Brain Bleach
by FictionalNutter
Summary: The Supernatural novels come back to haunt Sam and Dean, but this time the boys find themselves strangely thankful to Chuck for writing about them in the first place. Pairings: Destiel, Sabriel
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**So this is an idea I wanted to play around with, and I'm not sure how it's going to play out just yet. This isn't really set during any particular time, but Castiel and Gabriel are both alive, full fledged angels, and nobody is playing God, so maybe AU season 6ish? If you like it, have any idea, or any suggestions, let me know! Interest will definitely inspire me to continue, so feel free to comment!**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Not Again**

Sam Winchester was uncomfortably familiar with the look the girl at the video game store was giving him, and he could feel Dean shifting awkwardly next to him. Was it too much to ask to have to take out a ghost somewhere geeky without getting recognized?

"You're them," the girl said with hushed awe. Her face was practically glowing with excitement, accented by the hot pink pigtails she was sporting.

"We're who?" Dean demanded, tugging at the collar of his dress shirt uncomfortably.

"The Winchesters," the girl breathed, her tone almost reverent.

"Lady, you've got the wrong idea," Sam started to say, but he was interrupted.

"Don't bother denying it, I know you guys are real! It's all over the message boards." The girl was practically fawning over them, her gaze seeming especially appreciative of Dean, but her eyes were flicking back and forth between both brothers.

"The what now?" Dean asked, clearly confused.

The girl gave Dean a small scowl, as though he was dumber than she had given him credit for. "Online? You know, for the Supernatural books?"

Sam nearly groaned aloud as his expression quickly became a bitch face. He turned to Dean and mouthed, "We're going to kill Chuck."

Dean just nodded at him and turned back to the girl. "Look, Miss...?"

"Kasey," the girl said excitedly. "Kasey Kinder."

Dean's lips twitched slightly, but he managed to keep a business expression. "Miss Kinder, I'm not sure who exactly you think we are, but -"

"You can stop denying it, silly," Kasey teased. "My online bestie is Becky Rosen. She told me everything! Ooh, I should call her!" Kasey had her cell phone out before either brother could stop her, and up to her ear with the mere press of a button.

"Dammit," Dean muttered under his breath.

Next to him, Sam was currently the embodiment of the expression "if looks could kill."

"Becky!" Kasey squealed. "OH MY GOD. You will not believe who just showed up at work! YES! You were right, they're so hot!"

Dean was looking increasingly uncomfortable, backing away slightly as though that would distance him from what was happening.

"Ooh, hang on, I'll put you on speaker!" Kasey hit another button and held the phone out closer to the Winchesters. "Say hi, boys!"

Silence. Both of the Winchesters glared at Kasey.

"They're both a little shy about their fame, Kasey, not to worry! Put me on video chat so we can all see each other!" Becky's familiar voice came through the phone, causing both brothers to cringe.

"Ooh, good idea!" Kasey hit another button and the phone provided a loading symbol, followed by Becky's overly excited face.

"HEY GUYS!" Becky yelled at the phone, grinning like an idiot.

Sam reached up to rub his forehead, feeling defeated.

"This is so not happening," Dean growled, his voice too low for Becky to hear.

"C'mon, guys, don't be shy! Kasey really wants to meet you! I've told her all about how awesome you are!" Becky was still grinning, obviously not seeing how irritated Sam and Dean were.

Sam held out a phone. "Look, Kasey, give me the phone, okay?"

"Uh...sure?" Kasey held out the phone tentatively.

Sam snatched it and took it off speakerphone and video and held it up to his head so he could speak normally, walking away from the group. "Becky, what the hell?"

"What's wrong, Sammy?" Becky asked, surprised.

"Don't call me that. You know that what we do is supposed to be under the radar. Why the hell did you tell some random chick about us? This is supposed to just be a generic salt and burn, but we can't get your friend off our backs." Sam exhaled slowly, trying to keep his voice sounding docile and not threatening.

"Sorry, Sam," Becky said, her voice sounding deflated. "I didn't mean to get in the way of your job! I just needed someone to freak out with, you know? Hey...I have an idea!"

"I don't like the sound of that, Becky," Sam warned.

"No, it's nothing bad!" Becky insisted. "I'll make a deal with you. I'll call Kasey off and have her get you any info you need to take out the spirit."

"In return for what?" Sam demanded.

"Read some of her fan fiction! She's a great writer, and it would make her life, I swear." Becky sounded really pleased with her idea.

"Her what?" Sam asked, confused.

"Fan fiction! You know, stories about you guys based on the books!"

"Aaaah..." Sam said, an incredibly awkward conversation with Becky filtering back into his memory. "Is it anything like what you told me you like to write about? Because neither of us are touching that with a ten foot pole."

"No," Becky sighed, almost sadly. "She writes about different pairings than I do. No Sam on Dean action, if that's what you're worried about. Seriously, just each of you read one of her fics, tell her what you thought, and I swear I'll keep her off your case. It's not too much to ask, right?"

"Dean's going to kill me for this, but you have a deal. We both want to just get out of here." Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Great! Get something to write with so I can tell you where to go online. I know exactly which ones to have you guys read." Becky sounded excited again, and Sam bit back a groan.

* * *

True to her word, Becky had managed to get Kasey to become fully cooperative and stay out of their way, so they were done with the spirit by the end of the day. Sam was enduring a steely silence from Dean, who was not looking forward to their side of the bargain.

While driving back to the motel, Dean snapped. "C'mon, man, seriously? We have to read someone's crappy fantasies about us? How screwed up is that?"

"Supposedly she's a good writer," Sam offered, ignoring the withering look he got in return. "Look, Becky promised it wouldn't be the freaky stuff she likes to write about."

Dean winced, remembering that conversation all to well. "It better not be. I swear, Sam, the only reason I'm doing this is so we can get the hell out of town."

"Yeah, same," Sam commented.

Dean grumbled the rest of the way to the motel, and took the first shower while Sam got online. Becky wanted each of them to read a specific story, so Sam pulled up his 'assigned' reading.

The fic was called 'His Golden Wings,' and it took Sam all of two paragraphs to figure out what it was about. "Oh, God...Oh, hell no!" He set the laptop down harshly and jumped out of his chair, pacing. He was not reading that. Still though, was it the worst thing he'd ever had to do for a case? No. He could read some crappy fiction about him and a certain dead archangel.

With a resigned sigh, Sam sat back down and started reading. Reluctantly, he had to admit that this Kasey chick was a good writer. She also seemed to be relatively adept at describing parts of his body he didn't normally flaunt around, which made him uncomfortable. Even stranger was how nature the story felt as he read it. By the end, Sam was almost surprised to look over at his bed and not see an archangel waiting for him. Kasey's story made him feel like that was the natural order of things. As Sam finished the story and closed the page, he had to deal with the fact that he'd managed to develop an erection while thinking about an archangel that was not only no longer in the picture, but had always been a pain in the ass. Why in the hell was he thinking that way?

Curious now what Kasey had written in the story Dean was assigned, Sam pulled it up and began to read. He started laughing only a moment in, and was still laughing when Dean emerged from the bathroom.

"What's so funny? Is the story that crap?" Dean asked hopefully.

"Oh man, dude," Sam said, gasping through his tears of laughter. "You're going to want to kill this chick." He cracked a grin.

Dean's expression went dark. "What is it?"

"Uh uh, not telling, You do your homework, we'll stop by the game store on the way out of town, and that'll be the end of it. I'm getting in the shower." Sam passed Dean the laptop and hurried to the bathroom, managing to jump into the water right as Dean's strangled cry became audible.

Dean was going to be seriously pissed about that story, but it was so worth it. Sam had to admit that Kasey had an eye for detail. Even details that Sam had noticed. The whole Sam and Gabriel thing was still kind of smacking him upside the head, but he had no trouble understanding why fan fiction revolving around Dean and Castiel existed. Seriously, the only people who hadn't noticed the tension there were Dean and Castiel themselves.

Sam's attention was diverted back to his apparently latent attraction to Gabriel by the throb of his erection. Well, at least he was in the shower. If he kept it down, there was no need for Dean to ever learn of this particular fantasy Sam had just discovered.

Strangely, Sam was almost looking forward to seeing Kasey tomorrow. She really was a good writer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

**I'm still having a mild panic attack over "Clip Show," so apologies if that effects my writing. It was just ASDFGHJKL. Anyway...thank you to Perry123 and Phoenix-Autumn for the reviews! I really appreciate the vote of confidence. For clarification, I wanted to add that Gabriel did die, but he's back. The Winchesters don't know yet, but Castiel has been visiting him. Here's chapter 2 - enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2 - Well That Was Awkward**

Sam was not at all surprised that Dean was insisting on staying in the Impala while the younger hunter went into the gaming store to talk to Kasey. While Sam had found "The Profound Bond," the fan fiction that Dean had been assigned, both well written and largely accurate when it came to the chemistry between Dean and Castiel, the older hunter had initially reacted with horror and had since refused to say anything about it.

Upon walking into the shop, Sam noticed immediately that Kasey had been waiting for him. She was practically bouncing up and down with excitement, and the phone was pressed to her ear.

"You were right, Becks, you were right! He came back! It's just Sam though, I don't see Dean. At least one of them came back, right?" Kasey was stage whispering into her phone.

"Tell Becky I said hi," Sam said wryly, knowing that there was little he could do to discourage Becky's fascination at this point.

Kasey repeated the message, and the resulting squeal was loud enough for Sam to hear. "I gotta go, Becks, but I'll call you right back!" Kasey promised before quickly hanging up. She turned her full attention to Sam and smiled shyly. "Hi."

"Hey, Kasey," Sam said with a smile, trying to put her at ease. "Sorry Dean isn't here. He's still...stewing."

"Is he angry?" Kasey asked nervously.

Sam laughed. "Not exactly. Well, yes, he is pissed, but I think he just really hated reading porn about himself."

"What about you?" She asked tentatively.

"Okay, honestly? You're a great writer, Kasey, you really are. I'd suggest pursuing a career in that. Like, a real career. Not writing porn about two brothers who most people think are fictional." Sam was trying hard to hammer home a point here. The girl had real potential as a writer, and she should take advantage of it.

Kasey's entire face lit up. "Really? You thought my stories were good? You weren't freaked out or anything?"

"I was...a little caught off guard," Sam admitted. "I loved 'The Profound Bond' though, I found it very accurate." He grinned at her in spite of himself.

"Everyone ships Dean and Castiel," Kasey informed him with a sly smile. "Most of my stories are about them."

"Everyone does what now?" Sam asked, confused.

"It means we all think they should be in a relationship," She clarified. "A lot of us think that about you and Gabriel too."

Sam shifted awkwardly. "Uh...how far do the books cover, exactly? Do you know what happened to...?" He let the question hang, not wanting to ruin it for her if she didn't know.

"Oh, Gabriel's not dead," Kasey stated matter-of-factly.

Sam did a complete double take, staring at her dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?" He demanded. "Of course he's dead; Lucifer stabbed him."

Kasey rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase that. Gabriel's not dead _anymore_."

Still feeling a little shell shocked, Sam wasn't able to form a coherent sentence for a few minutes. "How do you...?" He tried to ask.

"It was in the books," Kasey said with a shrug. "God brought him back and charged him with watching over you guys and Castiel to make sure you survived the apocalypse intact. Didn't you wonder how you managed to pop back out of Lucifer's cage almost immediately without any real lasting problems, other than the odd nightmare? Gabriel saved you."

Sam was now completely incapable of speech. How the hell did some teenager know all this stuff that Sam would have killed to know? Reluctantly, Sam admitted to himself that reading Chuck's books might not be such a bad idea.

"You see? Gabriel's alive, and you two can be together!" Kasey cried excitedly.

Sam snapped out of it almost immediately. "Woah, there, let's take it easy. It's not like I'm harboring a latent crush on the guy."

"Sam," Kasey said, almost chidingly. "How can you ignore what's so obvious? He took a liking to you in the beginning, back when you thought he was a Trickster, and he started watching you guys. You know why he did the whole Mystery Spot thing, right? He was trying to snap you out of the path that was leading you towards Ruby and Lillith!"

Forcing away the returning dream of killing Chuck for making stuff like that public knowledge, Sam focused instead on the Gabriel part. "Wait, he did what? How was killing Dean supposed to keep me away from all that crap?"

"Because," Kasey emphasized as though explaining to a child, "if you accepted Dean's passing and didn't start working towards revenge, you would have been off of the path that led you to those demons. Looking for revenge is what popped Lucifer's box. Gabriel knew what was coming, so he tried to help you stay away from it."

"Okay, I can sort of see that, I guess," Sam admitted. "What about the TV land crap though? What on earth was the point of that?"

"Duh, he loves his family." Kasey pointed out. "For a while he thought that letting everything play out would keep the most angels safe, but you guys managed to convince him otherwise, and that's why he died for you guys at that hotel. Well, more for you, Sam. He's got a soft spot for you."

"Look, Kasey, how much of that is from the books and how much is you reading into it?" Sam asked with a frown.

"I swear, it's all in the books. It's one hundred percent true. Also, you can tell Dean that Castiel is madly in love with him and just doesn't know how to express it." Kasey grinned, pleased with herself.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's all I need. Great. Okay, well thanks for letting me know about Gabriel, Kasey. I'll consider passing along that last part, but we'll see how Dean is when he cools down from the whole porn thing."

Kasey looked smug. "You'll all end up together. It's meant to be."

"Right. Well, thanks, I guess. See you." Sam gave a half hearted wave and strode quickly from the shop, catching with one ear Kasey's greeting to Becky as she called her friend back.

Sliding into the Impala, Sam poked Dean and gestured to the road. "Drive on, dude. Let's get out of here."

"With pleasure," Dean muttered. "So, how'd it go in there?"

"It was interesting. Kasey was able to tell me some stuff, via Chuck, that I didn't know about, so that was good." Sam didn't elaborate, and focused pointedly on something out the window.

"Did she say what possessed her to write porn about us and angels?" Dean demanded, still irritated over the story he'd read. He was never planning to admit that it was not only well written, but a pleasure to read.

"Apparently we've just got amazing chemistry," was all Sam offered.

"It's still freaking weird," Dean mumbled, but he let the subject go.

As Sam starred off into the distance, all he could think about was the archangel that was apparently not only alive, but watching over the brothers. Somehow, Sam couldn't see that as anything other than the best thing to happen to them in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you for the amazing response so far, guys! Special thanks to Monsters-Need-Love-Too, justreading444, and shadowelf144 for your reviews on chapter 2! You ask, I deliver, so behold: chapter 3! This one is still from Sam's POV about Gabriel, but next chapter will be Dean's POV about Castiel. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3 - Time To Pray**

Dean had long since ditched Sam at the motel room in favor of going out to find a bar. Sam didn't mind at all, in fact he was relieved to finally be alone. There was someone he really wanted to speak to, and he didn't want Dean around for that conversation.

Taking a deep breath, Sam sat down on the side of the bed and closed his eyes. "Okay, so I'm not entirely sure how to do this. I'm not really practiced at praying to angels." He paused, trying to decide how to continue. For all the times he'd prayed to Castiel, all he'd ever really had to do was have a conversation with thin air. Although, Castiel rarely came when Sam called, though he always came for Dean. Shrugging off the thought, Sam tried to continue. "I know you're there, Gabriel. I know you're listening, and watching, or whatever, so can you come down here? I'd really like to talk to you."

For a minute, the room was silent, and nothing changed. Sam sighed in disappointment and got up to head towards the bathroom, intending to shower before Dean returned, utterly plastered.

"Hey, kiddo."

Sam whirled around so fast that he nearly fell over. As it was, he did have to grab the wall for support. "Gabriel!" He exclaimed, his eyes still not quite accepting what they were seeing.

The short angel with the gold hued eyes and sandy brown hair was leaning casual on the bed Sam had just vacated, looking as if his presence in the room was completely normal. "You called?"

"Give me a minute," Sam asked weakly. "I guess I wasn't really expecting it to be true." He leaned heavily against the wall, his mind racing.

"How'd you know I was here anyway?" Gabriel asked curiously, looking legitimately confused.

Sam shot him a skeptical look. "I thought you were watching us?"

"I am," Gabriel confirmed, "but not with scrutinizing detail. It's more of a safety patrol. I spent most of the last few days hanging out with my brother, so all I know about your most recent adventures is that you were perfectly safe. I also know that you've been in a pretty good mood, and Dean is beyond pissed about something, but mostly wallowing in confusion. I keep tabs, just not crazy close tabs. So? How'd you know?"

"Wait," Sam interjected, not answering the question yet. "Which brother?"

"Sammy, I only have one brother who even knows I'm alive, and I'd like to keep it that way. Who do you think I was with?" Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Cas," Sam stated, understanding flooding his expression.

"Duh," Gabriel added, smirking. "Are you going to answer my question now?"

"Uh..." It occurred to Sam now that for him to explain how he was aware of Gabriel's presence, he would have to explain the fan fiction thing. There was no way in hell he was letting Gabriel know that he had read porn about the two of them.

"Listen, Samsquatch, I will reach into that freakishly large skull of yours and pull out the information if I need to. Tell me how you knew!" Gabriel's eyes narrowed at Sam's hesitancy.

"Okay, okay!" Sam exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "It's just...kind of a weird story."

Gabriel smirked. "Sammy, your whole life is a weird story. C'mon, hit me. What happened?"

Allowing that, Sam took a seat in the chair facing the bed and began to tell a much edited version of their encounter with Kasey. "Okay, so I'm assuming you know about Chuck Shurley?"

"Never met him personally, but I know he was the prophet tasked with writing the Winchester Gospel." Gabriel offered casually.

"That's what Cas told us," Sam admitted. "It's so weird. Okay, so Chuck published these books about us called Supernatural, and they gained this huge fan following. One of those fans, this girl called Becky, is like obsessed with us, and because of Chuck she knows we're real, not fictional. Turns out she started telling people, and one of her friends, a girl called Kasey, recognized us during the job we just finished."

"Okay, I'm following you so far. Get to the part about me?" Gabriel prompted.

Sam shot him a scowl. "Relax, Gabe, I'm getting there."

Gabriel's eyes shot up at the nickname, but he smirked with content in his eyes and didn't comment.

Reboarding his train of thought, Sam continued. "Anyway, Kasey called Becky and I made a deal with Becky to get Kasey off our case. Turns out that Kasey wrote stories about us based on the books, and Becky wanted us to read some of her friend's stories, just to be nice. So, we did. The one I read happened to have you in it, and when I went back to talk to Kasey, she gave me a rundown on you from Chuck's perspective in the books, which included some stuff I didn't know. Including that God brought you back after you died for us. So...that's it."

Gabriel nodded, thinking over Sam's story for a moment before commenting. "So, what was the story about?" He asked curiously.

Sam immediately flushed and shook his head. "It's not important."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed, and he sat up until he was a little bit closer to eye level with Sam. "Oh?" He asked, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"Don't you dare read my mind, Gabriel," Sam warned.

"Then answer my question, kiddo," Gabriel returned threateningly.

"It was...porn, basically." Sam admitted, not meeting Gabriel's eyes.

"Featuring me?" Gabriel asked with a grin, relaxing again.

"Um...yeah." Sam replied, still avoiding the archangel's gaze.

"With who?" Gabriel asked pointedly.

Sam flushed beet red and shook his head again. "No-nobody."

With a sigh, Gabriel lowered his voice again and said, "Sammy, I'm not above digging in your head for an answer."

Sam still shook his head, "No, stay out of my head. It's not important."

"You asked for it," Gabriel muttered, delving into Sam's head without any further debate. After digging through the day of driving the boys had done, he got to the conversation with Kasey about everything he had done for the Winchesters, but mostly Sam. He felt a flash of irritation at this Kasey girl for telling Sam all of that. Not that it wasn't true, but he wasn't the type to admit to stuff like that. Going back further, he found Sam masturbating to thoughts of Gabriel in the shower, which caused the archangel's eyebrows to skyrocket. What had led to that? Finally he found the story Sam was reading, and scanned the words on the screen as the hunter did, taking note of the younger Winchester's clear erection as a result. With a smirk, Gabriel retreated from Sam's mind.

"I told you to stay out of my head!" Sam hissed angrily, but his face was too red for his anger to be taken seriously.

Gabriel was practically bouncing on the bed and grinning. "I love this fan fiction thing!" He enthused. "That Kasey girl is amazing accurate with the details." He allowed his eyes to flicker down to his crotch suggestively then back up to Sam's face, winking at the hunter.

Sam got what he meant immediately and flushed even redder still. "I didn't call to you because I wanted a booty call," Sam muttered.

"Doesn't mean it can't turn into one, Samsquatch. I'm dying to know if she was as accurate about you as she was about me. Plus, you know how that chick told you that I've got a soft spot for you? Well, she's right. Obviously I'm not good at showing it all the time, but in all seriousness, kiddo, you do mean a lot to me." Gabriel's tone turned from joking to serious as he spoke, his eyes full of sincerity.

Sam looked surprised and unsure how to respond. "I'll admit, now that I know more about why you did everything you've done, I'm not exactly adverse to your presence," Sam acknowledged slowly. "When you're not trying to screw with us, you're a pretty funny guy too."

"Dude, genital herpes was hysterical, don't sell me short," Gabriel teased.

Scowling at the memory, Sam raised an eyebrow and asked pointedly, "The nutcracker?"

Gabriel threw up his hands in surrender. "Well I'm sorry you don't speak Japanese!"

Rolling his eyes, Sam continued to scowl. "Yeah, that was totally the action of someone who cares about me."

Gabriel's expression softened. "Admittedly not one of my finer moments," He acknowledged. "If it helps, think of me like the little boy on the playground. I'm not good at expressing myself, so instead I throw rocks and pull pigtails." He eyed Sam's hair speculatively as though imaging how it might look in hair bands.

Sam's lips twitched at the comparison, but he caught Gabriel's expression and flashed him a warning look. "I swear to God, Gabe, if you do anything to my hair..."

"Geez, Samsquatch, no need for blasphemy. Relax, I'll leave your mane alone. There's something else I'd rather do anyway." Gabriel grinned at him, eyeing the hunter speculatively.

"What's that?" Sam asked warily.

Without answering, Gabriel moved over to Sam and pressed his lips to the hunter's, pleased when Sam responded almost immediately. The kiss wasn't rushed or overly passionate, but sweet and full of meaning. Gabriel eventually broke away, grinning when he saw Sam's put out expression.

"Think about it for as long as you need, Sammy," Gabriel whispered, pressing his lips to Sam's forehead. "I'll be around whenever you call." With a swoosh of wings, the archangel was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

**You guys make me so happy! Thank you to Perry123, Monsters-Need-Love-Too, FireChildSlytherin5, and Maybaby34 for the reviews on chapter 3! Enjoy a little Destiel on me. This all happens during Sam's time in the motel in chapter 3. :)**

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**Chapter 4 - Feeling Conflicted**

As soon as the boys had stopped driving for the day and found a motel, Dean had wasted no time in finding a bar. He had half a plan, which mostly consisted of getting shit faced and diving headfirst into the first busty woman who showed interest, but once he arrived he found himself just thinking. Granted, he was thinking with a beer in his hand, but he was thinking nonetheless.

The bar tender, who was a very attractive woman with blonde curls, had been eyeing him all night, but he couldn't bring himself to pay her any attention. His mind was completely consumed with thoughts of a certain angel friend, and he was trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do with that.

Dean Winchester was not attracted to an angel of the Lord.

Of course, he'd had this talk with himself before. It was hard not to find Castiel distracting sometimes. After all, he was pretty freaking adorable, not that it was in any way manly to say something like that. Dean didn't feel that connected with anyone else on the planet, even Sam, and it was probably obvious from all the extended eye contact he and Castiel seemed to engage in.

So yes, Dean had talked himself out of finding Castiel attractive on multiple occasions.

Damn Kasey Kinder and her stupid well written porn.

Dean finished his beer and set the empty bottle down on the counter, indicating to the bartender that he'd like another.

"You doing alright, sweetheart?" She asked him skeptically as she set another bottle down.

"Just peachy," he muttered.

"Heart trouble?" She asked knowingly, giving him a sly smile.

Dean thought about denying it, but this chick didn't know him, so what was the harm in venting for awhile? "Yeah, something like that. I'm trying to figure some stuff out I guess."

She considered that for a moment before responding. "Unrequited love?" She guessed.

"I don't even know," Dean admitted. "I'm still trying to figure out where my head's at, let alone where hi-my friend's head is." Dean wasn't quite ready to admit that he was considering admitting to attraction for a man, and hoped the bartender hadn't noticed the slip.

"Okay, so you're discovering feelings for a friend then," the bartender surmised.

"Pretty much," Dean confirmed.

She nodded at that and thought about it before replying again. "Well, not for nothing, but I've been watching you mope over here for close to an hour, and honey, I'd say you've got it bad."

Dean made a face. "I'm not sure I want it," he huffed.

She rolled her eyes. "What, are you having some kind of sexual identity crisis or something?" Her eyes widened when Dean shifted uncomfortably. "Really? Oh, sweetheart, man up. Grow a pair, admit what you feel, and go talk to your friend."

Dean did a double take, then started chuckling. "Yes ma'am," he said, snapping a salute.

"Shut up," she teased, winking at him. "Seriously though. Figure out what you want and go for it." With those words, she turned and sashayed to the other end of the bar.

Considering that, Dean had to admit she was right. Life was short, especially for a hunter. He'd been repressing his feelings for Castiel for years now. At first it had just been a weird tension, but the longer they'd known each other the more intense it had become. It was hard to resist that level of devotion from someone. Half of him just wanted to bleach his brain and eliminate all the conflicting feelings, and the other half of him wanted to jump Castiel's bones and never let the angel go.

Getting up from the bar, Dean wandered outside. He wasn't ready to head back to the motel yet, and he wasn't really in the mood to hook up with anyone. Sighing, he turned his eyes skyward.

"Hey, Cas, it's been awhile. I know you're busy and all, but I was just wondering if you wanted to maybe...I dunno, hang out or something?" Dean trailed off, realizing that he was basically asking an angel out on a date. Was that even allowed?

A whoosh of wings caused Dean to turn, facing Castiel for the first time in almost three weeks. "Hello, Dean." Castiel greeted him.

"Hey," was Dean's only reply. He hadn't really been expecting Castiel to show up, and now that he had the hunter wasn't sure what to do.

"I apologize for not visiting sooner," Castiel offered. "Things in Heaven are complicated, but we are making progress."

"No, no worries," Dean replied. "Wait, who's 'we'?"

"I have a few brothers who are helping me clean up our home," Castiel replied evasively. "It is a tedious task, but we are nearly finished. Soon I should be able to spend more time here, with you."

Dean felt a flush of pleasure at those words, but he tried his best to keep his face neutral. "Sweet, it'll be nice having you around." Dean inwardly cursed at the girly admission, but the angel didn't seem to mind.

"I do prefer spending my days in your company than that of the angels," Castiel admitted. "With a few exceptions, my brothers tend to be very difficult to get along with at the moment."

"At least your brothers don't make you read porn," Dean muttered under his breath.

Castiel's head tilted and his eyes squinted in confusion. "What?"

Dean immediately snapped out of it and shook his head. "Nothing, not important. So do you have free time, or do you have to pop back upstairs?"

"My...right hand, I suppose you could call him, had to leave to visit a friend, so I took the opportunity to respond to your prayer as well. I shall return in a bit, but as I said, I should be around more frequently soon." Castiel did his best to look reassuring.

Dean took it in stride, not really expecting that Castiel could stay. "It's cool, Cas. I understand that Heaven is important. You don't have to wait for me to pray to stop by though, really. Just...you know, pop in whenever. It's cool."

"I appreciate the offer," Castiel replied, his voice warmer than usual. "I will endeavor to take you up on it soon."

"Awesome," Dean commented, smiling at the angel. The admissions he'd allowed himself to make took off so much pressure that used to exist between them. The tension was still there, but Dean was now fully aware of every aspect of his connection to Castiel, and that made being with the angel so much less stressful.

Something seemed to occur to Castiel, and he nodded to himself. "My brother has finished his social call, so I had best rejoin him. I will visit again soon, Dean."

Taking pleasure in that small promise, Dean was fine with letting Castiel go. "Yeah, thanks for stopping by tonight. Good luck with the whole Heaven thing."

"Thank you, Dean. It was no bother, I will always come when you call." With another whoosh of wings, the angel had vanished.

Suddenly feeling drained, Dean decided that maybe it was time to head back to the motel after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**The response for this fic has been so much more impressive and constant than any of my others, so thank you guys so much! Thanks especially to Perry123, Maybaby34, FireChildSlytherin5, DanielleMJSH, Monsters-Need-Love-Too, and Azawratch and Dusk for their reviews on chapter 4! I have the most inspiration for this fic at the moment, which means you get chapter 5!**

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**Chapter 5 -We Need To Talk**

Sam looked up automatically when Dean entered the motel room, and was pleasantly surprised by the relatively rational frame of mind he appeared to be in.

"Hey," he said, his surprise coloring his tone.

Dean caught the implication and shot him a look. "What, shocked that I'm not in a coma?"

"I was expecting a little more stumbling and overly friendly company on your arm," Sam admitted. "Trust me though, I'm perfectly happy that's not the case."

Muttering to himself, Dean headed for the bathroom. "Yeah, well, I was distracted."

"Heh. Speaking of distractions...I kind of have to tell you something." Sam rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure how to start this conversation.

Dean paused in mid-step and turned back to face Sam. "Do I need to be more or less drunk for this conversation?" He asked seriously.

"Uh...not sure, honestly." Sam shrugged apologetically and gestured to the bed Dean had claimed earlier. "Just, sit. I'll tell you, and you can be either pissed or thoroughly uninterested. I just need to tell you before something happens and you get mad that I didn't tell you sooner." He trailed off as he realized he was rambling.

Sitting down with a heavy sigh, Dean rubbed his forehead before refocusing on Sam. "Alright, Sammy, hit me. What's up?"

"Okay, so you know how God has raised Castiel from the dead, like, three times now?" Sam decided to lead with Dean's preferred angel, hoping that would make this news lighter to bear.

"Yeah..." Dean's eyes narrowed, not sure where this was going.

"Right, well, God hasn't just raised Cas. He brought back another angel too. Well, archangel." It took every fiber of Sam's being not to wince in anticipation of Dean's reaction.

Dean starred at his blankly for a second, eyes wide with shock. "You're kidding," he intoned, his voice flat.

"No, not kidding." Sam countered. "We talked while you were at the bar. Gabriel's alive, and better than ever." Sam decided to leave off the fact that he might have quickly developing feelings for the archangel. It wasn't nice to throw two bombshells at Dean in one evening. Plus, letting himself figure out what he wanted first was probably wise. Even if he was already pretty damn sure what he wanted.

"Great," Dean said without enthusiasm. "That's just what we need. The biggest angelic ass of all time is back in action?"

Dean's phrasing had Sam momentarily distracted with thoughts of Gabriel's rather attractive rear end, but he managed to snap out of it in time to answer the question. "Well, yes, but he was also brought back specifically to guard us while we defeated Lucifer. Also...he's the one who pulled me out of Lucifer's cage." Sam hadn't brought that up with Gabriel yet, but he needed to think of a way to properly express his gratitude. Somehow he didn't think Hallmark made "Thanks For Saving Me From Hell" cards.

The older hunter did a complete double take, his face taking on the most emotion he'd shown during the whole conversation. "What, seriously?" He demanded.

Sam just nodded, surprised by Dean's complete change in demeanor.

"Dude, we need to get him a friggin fruit basket. Cas told me that it would be damn near impossible to pull you out, but I was this close to asking him to try anyway when you reappeared." Dean blew out his breath and rubbed his forehead again. "As long as he doesn't pull any crap on me, he's welcome to join the bandwagon. Saving you from hell is probably the one thing that guy could have done to earn any inch of forgiveness from me."

"Wow." Sam managed to reply. "I was not expecting you to be this cool about it."

"I swear to God, Sam," Dean said in a warning voice. "Any more crap like Mystery Spot and TV land and the guy is back on my "to-fry-in-holy-oil" list. For now though, I won't freak if he shows up. I'd say saving you makes me and him even."

Sam shrugged and decided to allow that. "Alright, sweet. I was kind of afraid you'd freak."

"Nah, I'm cool," Dean murmured, fatigue starting to overcome him and he lay back on the bed. "Like I said, as long as I don't wake up with pink hair or something wrong with my baby, Gabriel and I are square as far as I'm concerned."

Cringing at the very real possibility of Gabriel doing something to screw with Dean, Sam sent a quick prayer to his newly discovered crush urging him to play nice with Dean for the foreseeable future. Gabriel didn't show himself, but a Tootsie Roll Pop appeared on Sam's bedside table, and he took that as an indication that Gabriel had at least heard him.

"I saw Cas tonight," Dean offered out of the blue.

Sam's attention was completely redirected. "Oh? What'd he want?"

"Nothing, I called him. We hadn't seen him in awhile, and I just felt like saying hi." Dean threw his arm over his head and yawned. "He seems to think things are going pretty well on the Heaven front. Said he'd come visit more often."

Remembering what Kasey had said about Castiel's love for Dean, Sam's mind began to churn with ideas. "Cool, it'll be nice to have him around again," was what he said out loud, but inwardly he began to plan a time to talk to Castiel alone. He would confirm with the angel what he felt before approaching Dean with the information.

"Yeah, it feels weird when he's not around," Dean murmured.

Sam raised an eyebrow, but decided not to follow that train of thought. There was no way Dean was going to outright admit feelings for Castiel tonight. The hunter wasn't drunk enough. Besides, if he was feeling anything like Sam at the moment, then he would need a few days to figure out what to do with his feelings. Deciding he was ready for bed, Sam got changed quickly and slipped into bed. He decided to save the Tootsie Roll Pop, but childishly slid it under his pillow before settling down. Somehow, knowing Gabriel was close was immensely comforting. At the thought, a soothing sensation spread throughout his body and he felt utterly relaxed. Man, he could get used to that. It was only a matter of time before he did something about it.

In the other bed, Dean was going back and forth with himself over the Castiel thing again. One on hand, Dean wanted to spout out enough lovey-dovey tripe at the angel to put a romantic comedy to shame. One the other hand, Dean wanted to pretend he didn't feel anything for the angel and continue to act like a ladies' man for all intents and purposes. Except that, Dean couldn't focus on chicks right now. That dark messy hair and piercing blue eyes were his sole focus, and Dean knew that the instant he admitted to himself that he was attracted to Castiel, he had been lost. Now it was just a matter of time before he did something about it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:**

**The response to this story makes me very happy every time I log onto FanFiction! Thank you to TearsOfARose, kdarnell2, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, susi chan, Perry123, and Monsters-Need-Love-Too for their reviews on chapter 5! I'm glad you're all enjoying it, so have another chapter! This is the big Sam and Castiel chapter, which I'm actually really happy with. I feel like their relationship in the show doesn't get enough attention, and I like the idea of them being friends, especially since it's obvious in the show that Sam is the one person who never stops supporting Castiel, even when our favorite angel is in the doghouse with everyone else. Anyway, here it is. Let me know what you think!**

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**Chapter 6 - Dating Advice**

As it turned out, Sam didn't have to wait long to talk to Castiel at all. In fact, Sam had barely arrived at the tiny supermarket to grab groceries when the angel appeared beside him.

"Geez, Cas!" Sam complained, flinching visibly when he realized the angel's presence. Dean, who was visited more frequently by Castiel, rarely reacted to the angel's random appearances anymore, but Sam's first reaction was still to tense up.

"I apologize for startling you, Sam," Castiel intoned, his face looking properly abashed.

Sam relaxed and patted Castiel's shoulder reassuringly before moving forward into the store. "No worries, Cas. What are you doing here?" The implication behind the question was 'why are you here with me, and not back at the motel with Dean?' but Sam decided not to actually vocalize that question.

"I had a question for you," Castiel admitted. "I did not want to voice it when there was a chance Dean might hear me."

Curiosity sufficiently piqued, Sam set down the shopping basket he'd picked up and turned to give Castiel his full attention. "Alright, I'll bite. What's up?"

Doubt flooded Castiel's expression for a moment, but it quickly dissipated and his face took on hesitation instead. "I know little of appropriate human social customs," he began, pausing when Sam raised his eyebrows high with a completely lack of subtlety. "That may be understating matters," he admitted. "My point is, I wish to inquire of you how to appropriately manage my relationship with your brother."

Sam's eyebrows were still raised in surprise as he tried to figure out which part of that to address first. "Uh...okay. Well, how do you view your relationship with Dean right now?"

"We are profoundly bonded," Castiel replied immediately, as if this fact was obvious.

"Right," Sam agreed, playing along. "Which means what, exactly?"

Castiel's face twisted in confusion briefly before he looked mildly chagrined. "I do not mean to insult you, Sam, but it would be best stated by my saying that Dean is the most important human in my world. I do consider you a friend though." He looked worried as he spoke, as though afraid of actually hurting Sam's feelings.

Sam's lips twitched towards a smile, which he tried to control. "Believe me, Cas, that's not news. Don't worry about it. I consider you a friend too."

The angel visibly relaxed, relieved that he hadn't alienated one of his only real allies. "Good," he said with a calming sigh.

Returning to the matter at hand, Sam tried to figure out where to go with the whole profoundly bonded concept. "So, you value Dean the most, out of everybody?" When Castiel just nodded, Sam pursed his lips slightly and made a noise of acknowledgement. "Alright, and what exactly about that relationship do you feel like you need to manage?"

"I do not know human customs," Castiel reiterated, "but for angels, there is a certain level of connection that warrants a deeper bond." He looked at Sam intently, as though the hunter should know exactly what he meant.

"Deeper how?" Sam asked.

Castiel sighed, clearly unsure how to explain. "You are aware of my mark on Dean," he stated, not really asking, but waiting for Sam's nod nonetheless. "That is a sign of a bond, though his mark is primarily due to the effort it took for me to raise him from hell. It is a bond, but not in the sense I would seek. A true bond would be much deeper, and be an emotional connection between the one marked and the one who did the marking."

Sam spent a few moments wrapping his head around that. "Okay, Cas, forgive me if I don't understand angel culture in its entirety, but are you talking about some form of mating?"

This time Castiel paused, but eventually he nodded slowly. "You could call it that, I suppose. It is a very serious choice one makes once they have discovered their soul mate, but it is always within the angelic host."

Sam raised an eyebrow at that. "So let me boil this down to the basics. You're in love with Dean, want to make him your mate, but that's not really done in angel society?"

Castiel frowned for a moment, considering, before again nodding. "That is a vastly oversimplified explanation, but it is largely accurate I suppose." His face softened and he nearly smiled. "At the very least, you have correctly grasped my emotional state regarding your brother. It is a feeling I am still coming to grips with, hence my confusion regarding how to proceed."

Pleased with this admission, Sam had to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. "That's great, Cas, really. Why do you need my help?"

Looking concerned now, Castiel explained himself. "As I said before, I am not well versed in appropriate human customs regarding relationships. My perception of Dean is that he would likely not respond well were I to be overly forthright about my desires and intentions."

Sam's lips twitched again and he nodded. "Agreed. So are you asking me for advice on how to woo my brother?"

Castiel brightened considerably. "Yes, I believe that is what I require."

This time Sam laughed, but it wasn't at Castiel, rather it was an overall sound of excitement. "Oh man, this is going to be great." He grinned broadly. "Cas, I would be happy to help you." Castiel seemed thrilled, and his entire expression was more joyous than Sam had ever seen it. That sight alone made Sam want more than anything to get Castiel and Dean together. "Okay, so if you couldn't get my help, what was your plan?"

"I was considering providing copious amount of alcohol and pie to prepare him for my announcement," Castiel informed Sam matter-of-factly.

Sam chuckled. "I'd avoid giving him too much beer if you want to get a reasonable reaction out of him. Pie isn't a bad idea though. Really though, Cas, I think what he really wants to do is spend time with you. Like, without either one of you being in imminent danger. He was practically glowing last night because you told him you were planning to spend more time with us."

Castiel seemed smugly pleased at that revelation. "I am glad," he replied. "I do believe my quest in Heaven is nearing a close. Gabriel has been most helpful." At Sam's questioning look, Castiel added, "I am aware that he visited you, and I assume you have told Dean of his presence by now." When Sam nodded, Castiel continued with, "Heaven is not aware of his presence, but he has been using his grace to allow me to demonstrate a substantially higher amount of power than what I possess. Essentially, I am catching everyone's attention so they'll listen to me. One by one, we are alerting the angels to the dangers of restarting the apocalypse. Soon, Raphael will have no more support, and the threat will be over. Ideally, Gabriel will return at that point to help me maintain order, but I do not foresee any major dangers emerging anytime soon."

Sam was relieved. "That's great, Cas, we've been kind of worried over the past few months. You didn't really tell us much, so it was hard to figure out how things were going."

"I apologize for not being as informative as you would have preferred," Castiel offered.

"It's cool, Cas. Seriously though, with Dean, you guys should hang out. Just, talk and have fun. He would really love that. If I'm being honest, I'd say that he does have feelings for you, but it'll probably take time to get him to admit it." Sam smiled reassuringly at the angel. "Just be patient."

Castiel smiled at Sam, an expression of pure gratitude. "Thank you, Sam. Your insight has been most valuable."

"Happy to help, Cas," Sam replied with a natural smile. He picked up his shopping basket again, more out of instinct than intention, but Castiel caught the movement and nodded.

"I will leave you to your shopping now," the angel told him before vanishing with a whoosh.

Glancing down at his watch, Sam noted with a wince that he was meant to be back at the motel with breakfast by now. Dean was going to kill him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

**I love writing this fic, and I'm so glad you all are enjoying it! Your reviews make me so happy! Thank you to Perry123, TearsOfARose, Monsters-Need-Love-Too, and Sam Meek for your reviews on chapter 6! The chapter is going to be from Sam's POV again, because it's about Gabriel, but the next chapter will be from Dean's POV about what happens to him during this chapter, just to give you a head's up.**

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**Chapter 7 - Valued And Loved**

Sam managed to get back to the motel a half an hour later, and Dean glanced up from the tv when his younger brother walked in.

"Dude, where have you been? I'm starving!" Rather than get up, Dean held out an open hand, indicating with his fingers for Sam to toss him food.

Sam threw him a breakfast sandwich followed by a Gatorade, then dug his own food out of a bag. "Sorry, man, I guess I just lost track of time." He set his food down on the small table and took a seat, opening a fruit salad on top of granola and mixing it all together with a plastic fork.

"Eh, it's cool," Dean replied with his mouth full, attention diverted back to the tv.

Not bothering to ascertain what Dean was watching, since he and his brother rarely enjoyed the same shows, Sam was more attentive to his surroundings and noticed when Castiel appeared first. Realizing, that Dean was unaware, Sam called loudly, "Hey, Cas!"

Dean started violently, not expecting the interrupting, and nearly spilled his drink on himself. Regaining his equilibrium, he turned to see the angel standing by the door, and involuntarily his entire expression lit up.

Smirking at his brother, Sam rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his food. This time, Castiel was here for Dean.

"Good morning, Dean," Castiel offered formally, looking like he was trying to figure something out.

"It's good to see you again, Cas. What's up?" Dean immediately leaped to the conclusion that Castiel required a purpose for visiting them.

Hesitating, Castiel turned incrementally towards Sam. "Sam, would you mind if I kidnapped Dean for the day?" He inquired with deadly seriousness.

Sam didn't even turn around, waving them off. "He's all yours, Cas. Have fun."

Dean looked at his brother with confusion, but didn't get a chance to ask before both he and Castiel vanished from the room.

Humming to himself, Sam quickly finished off his breakfast and walked over to shut off the television. He apparently had an entire day to himself. His mind hopped to various time occupying activities, like reading or exploring the town, but he found himself praying for Gabriel before he'd even had a chance to consider that an option.

"Hey, Gabe, I don't know how close you are, so you might already know this, but Cas took Dean for the day, so I have a lot of time on my hands, and I was wondering if we could talk?" Sam let the question hang in the air, and felt a grin spread across his face when the whoosh of wings alerted him to the archangel's arrival.

"Nice to hear from you, Sammy." Gabriel commented with an easy smile. He was twirling a cherry red Tootsie Roll Pop between his fingers, popping it back into his mouth when he finished speaking.

Two things occurred to Sam at that moment. First was the fact that the candy Gabriel had given him before was still under his pillow from sleeping with it, a fact he wasn't ready to own up to. Second was that he didn't mind at all when Gabriel called him Sammy. Dean was only allowed to use the nickname when he was concerned about Sam. Otherwise it irritated the younger Winchester because it made him feel like he was some defenseless kid. When Gabriel said it though, it sounded like a term of endearment. Somehow, Sam really didn't mind an archangel referring to him with endearment.

"You did mention talking, right?" Gabriel clarified sarcastically, eyeing the thoughtful hunter curiously.

"Sorry," Sam replied automatically. "Lost in thought." When Gabriel raised an eyebrow, Sam scowled at him. "Don't go digging in my head again. Just let me say what I feel like saying."

"Yeah, but if I only let you tell me what you feel like revealing, I'll never hear the interesting stuff. Like how you read porn about us online." Gabriel grinned at him and winked.

Sam blushed crimson, and found himself surprised by the practically feral look that passed through Gabriel's eyes in reaction. "Yeah, well, I'd rather not have you knowing my every thought all the time. Maybe sometimes, but not all the time."

Gabriel had recovered quickly from his reaction to Sam's blush, though he was overcome with the desire to make Sam blushing his number one purpose in life. "I guess I can live with that," he finally replied. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

It took Sam all of a minute to realize that there was no way he could effectively put "Thanks for saving me from hell" into a sentence anywhere near as meaningful as he needed it to be. "I changed my mind," he said softly, moving forward to sit next to Gabriel on the bed.

"About?" Gabriel prompted. He shifted so he could see Sam's eyes more clearly. The hunter had amazingly honest and sympathetic eyes that were practically dripping warmth and comfort. It was mesmerizing.

"I think I do need you in my head. At least for this. It'll make it easier if I don't have to try and say everything. I don't know how to..." Sam drifted off, but he could feel Gabriel's presence in his mind. Apparently the archangel didn't need much prodding. Relaxing slightly, Sam began flooding Gabriel with memories and thoughts on purpose, hoping to effectively communicate that way.

_Kasey Kinder telling him Gabriel was alive, and his intense relief at that fact._

_Kasey Kinder telling him that Gabriel had raised him from hell, and his disbelief and shock at that news._

_Dwelling on how everything Gabriel had done looked from the other side of the playing field._

_Wanting more than anything to confirm that Gabriel was alive, then actually talking to him._

_Conflicting feelings of arousal, want, gratitude, and confusion after Gabriel left._

_Thinking about it and realizing that Gabriel was really pretty amazing._

_Gabriel had tried to save him, tried to save his family, and ultimately had pulled Sam out of hell to try and save him again._

_Gabriel had kissed him, and he had liked it and it had felt right somehow._

_Now - figuring out what to do with all of that._

Sam took a deep breath and felt Gabriel's presence withdraw from his head. He chanced a peek at the archangel, and was surprised to see that Gabriel was staring at him in open shock. "What?" He managed to ask, feeling awkward from the stare.

"Samsquatch, anyone tell you how incredible you are?" Gabriel murmured.

"Wait, what?" Now it was Sam's turn to look shocked. "How does a freaking archangel get to call me incredible? You saved him from hell, dammit! You're practically the most powerful being I've ever encountered, you can make me feel like we're meant to be together in the space of one conversation, and somehow you've decided that I'm important? Seriously?"

Gabriel made a face at him. "You have ridiculously low self esteem, you know that, kiddo?" Sam huffed, but didn't reply, so Gabriel continued. "Honestly? You weren't ever supposed to know about any of that. About how I tried to avert the apocalypse by helping you, albeit poorly, or how I tried to help the apocalypse along, thinking I could save my family. I didn't think you would take the whole sacrificial death thing all that badly, given how I'd treated you, and since I was supposed to protect you once God raised me, how could I not save you from my brother and his cage? You know what keeps drawing my grace to you, Sammy?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You have the brightest and purest soul of any human I know. You practically glow, Sam, and I just can't seem to stay away. It's like how moths get drawn to light. I can't help it."

Sam's face fell, sure that Gabriel had to be making this up. "There's no way I have anything even remotely approaching a pure soul," he disagreed. "Nobody on earth is more tainted than I am. I've been earmarked for hell since I was an infant."

Gabriel's expression was suddenly furious. "Do not call me a liar, Sam Winchester. You have been tainted by other influences, but never once have you wavered in your unfailing desire to do what is right. You have clearly made poor decisions, but you never acted for anything other than the best of reasons. Your soul is pure, Sam, and you shine."

This whole conversation made Sam feel small, which was impressive considering he tended to be the tallest person in the room. He was not anything like what Gabriel was describing. The archangel made it sound like Sam was practically a treasure, but the hunter knew that he was just pawn in a dark war. Just because they'd stopped the apocalypse didn't make him any less Lucifer's vessel or one of Azazel's children.

"Stop thinking, Sam," Gabriel ordered, his tone grave. "I know what you're telling yourself, and you're wrong. What do you think could make me show any interest in humanity again? You, with your damn shiny soul and stupidly attractive eyes, you made me crawl out of my hole and help with the apocalypse. I can't stay away from you, kiddo, I can't. My grace just thrives being in your presence." His lips twitched and he added, "Also, I seriously get off looking at you. Damn, Sammy, you know you're freaking hot, right?"

Sam had been practically shrinking into himself at Gabriel's assessment of him, but the final comment snapped through his thought process and just made him laugh out loud. He took in the impudent grin on the archangel's face and suddenly had the overwhelming desire to kiss this incredible being that had somehow decided he was not only worth saving, but worth valuing.

Gabriel's expression grew solemn again, as though he knew what Sam was thinking, but he didn't speak, instead sitting up and moving closer, until suddenly he was kissing Sam again.

It was different this time, because Sam had just been bombarded with more pure love than he had ever felt, and that made him desperate for the connection. Gabriel was pretty desperate himself, because he'd pretty much been pining for Sam for longer than he'd probably ever admit.

This kiss, which turned quickly from a single kiss into a series of them followed by just plain making out, was much more intense and overpowering than the first had been. Before, Sam had been left with a tingling desire for more. Now, he was getting more and it still wasn't quite enough. For an archangel that he had thought was dead until two days ago, Gabriel had managed to become the one thing he desired above all else, and Sam certainly was not complaining.

Gabriel was a fantastic kisser. He frequently took detours from Sam's mouth to make visits to his chin, his neck, and his collarbone, relishing the noises he was able to draw from the hunter as a result. Using this as an opportunity, Gabriel delved into Sam's utterly open mind and began to chant a message to him as he kissed in earnest.

_You are of incredible value. You are loved._

Those two thoughts began echoing around Sam's mind like a mantra, punctuated each time by another passionate kiss or nip from Gabriel. In that moment, Sam knew for sure that Gabriel was not lying, and never had been. Sam really was a pure soul, and Gabriel really did treasure him. It was almost too much for Sam to wrap his head around, but realizing that he could admit it to himself made it easier to accept. He wanted Gabriel more than anything, and he felt the love Gabriel had been pouring into him churning around in his mind, begging for reciprocation. Was it far too early to be throwing around words like love? Maybe, but it wasn't like he and Gabriel had just met, and the archangel who was ridiculously talented with his tongue also happened to be the only person Sam could ever fathom being with in his lifetime.

With that epiphany, Sam mustered up all the strength he could and sent a loud thought towards Gabriel's mind. _You are amazing, and I love you._ It was simple, but true.

Gabriel froze for a split second before allowing a wide smile to spread across his face. He murmured in contentment and pulled away from Sam slightly so they could look at each other. "You're perfect, Sam Winchester," he said softly, the words almost a growl. He continued with, "and you are all mine."

Sam couldn't help but moan at that, feeling pleased when Gabriel's hands tightened around his waist possessively. He grinned slightly and nodded. "Yours, Gabe," Sam agreed. It was the most natural thing in the world.

They were still lost in each other, kissing and cuddling on the bed, that they completely missed the reappearance of Dean and Castiel that evening.

Castiel merely smiled warmly at the unaware couple on the bed, who were facing each other with their eyes closed, just holding each other.

Dean, on the other hand, was so surprised that he was literally incapable of holding in his comments. "What the hell?!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

**I know I updated today already, but I really wanted to write another chapter. Plus, I just watched Sacrifice, and if I don't write something to take my mind off of it, I will explode. I literally have no one to talk to about it, so feel free to message me your feels so we can commiserate! Anyway, thank you to Sinthija, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, obsession-is-my-life, Perry123, Soaha, and TobiBlack for their reviews on chapter 7! Enjoy Dean and Castiel's day out! This chapter runs parallel to chapter 7.**

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**Chapter 8 - First Date**

Dean stumbled slightly as they landed, but righted himself quickly. He turned around to give Castiel a piece of his mind, but was immediately distracted by his surroundings. Before him was a large stable, with plenty of people milling around in various riding outfits. The entire area smelled like horse, and the animals in question were making their standard noises, giving the entire place a distinctive atmosphere.

Losing what he had intended to say, Dean asked instead, "Where are we?"

"Colorado," Castiel replied, his tone pleased. "I find the scenery here aesthetically pleasing, and I thought we could 'hang out' for awhile." He didn't make air quotes around 'hang out,' but they could be heard in his voice.

"And go horse back riding?" Dean asked, assuming that was the intention.

Castiel nodded. "You seem to have an affinity for the atmosphere of the past western expansion period of this country. While I am not strong enough to warrant a day trip to the past, I assumed that horse back riding in the present would be enjoyable as well."

Dean felt a smile form on his face and he couldn't resist giving Castiel a pat on the back. "Nice, Cas. I haven't been riding in..." He trailed off, trying to remember. He vaguely recalled one of Dad's friends taking him riding as a kid, but that had been years ago. Horse back riding wasn't really a commonly needed skill in his line of work.

"I am told that this activity frequently causes discomfort in one's hind regions," Castiel explained apologetically, "but if that is the case, please let me know and I will take care of it immediately."

Dean's lips twitched as he tried to hold in his laugh, but eventually he had to chuckle. He knew that Castiel meant he could use his angel mojo to heal the sore muscles, but the way he had phrased it sounded really suggestive. "Thanks, Cas," he finally replied. "Have you ever ridden a horse?"

"I have not had the occasion, no." Castiel informed him. "I decided that a new experience was a good thing, especially when shared with good company."

Dean felt a little bit like a girl for being so pleased with that comment, but was relieved when he was able to keep from commenting on it. "Alright, sweet. Let's get saddled up, then, shall we?"

The hunter and angel soon found themselves on sturdy and rather attractive animals. Castiel, being the novice, had been provided with an older gelding, which Dean guessed was probably part quarter horse. Dean himself might have exaggerated his own experience just a little bit, because the stables had seen fit to give him a much more animated steed, which definitely had some quarter horse in him, and seemed eager to get out on the trails.

Just as exciting as the horses though, for Dean, were the cowboy hats he managed to snag from the stable. His own was black and sleek, and he thought it made him look pretty badass. Castiel's, which he was wearing solely to humor Dean, was tan, similar in hue to his trenchcoat. In all honesty it looked completely ridiculous on him, with his ever present stoic expression, but he refused to take it off because of the grin he'd seen on Dean's face when he first donned it.

Once out on the trails, Dean felt a little more secure about showing his excitement. "C'mon, Cas, let's speed up!" He urged, giving his horse a nudge with his heels. The animal responded with more enthusiasm than Dean had been expecting, and suddenly he was moving far quicker than he had intended. It wasn't quite a gallop, but it was pretty damn fast for a man with such minimal riding experience.

"Dean!" Castiel called after him, unable to provoke his own horse to quite that speed. The gelding sped up, but not to the same degree. Castiel patted his neck and soothed the animal, assuring him that it was fine if he wasn't quite up to the speeds of the other horses anymore.

"I can't slow down!" Dean yelled back, pulling at the reigns, though that barely managed to deter his horse. "He's got a mind of his own!" As if to punctuate the statement, the horse jumped over a log he could have easily stepped over. "I'm fine!" He added as an afterthought, unsure if Castiel would see his speeding horse as a danger.

Castiel couldn't help but feel amused, and used some of his grace to strengthen his gelding, allowing him to close the gap between himself and Dean more easily. As soon as he was within range of Dean's horse, he leaned over slightly to touch the horse, using his grace to calm the animal's nerves.

Finally their paces had evened out, and they were going at a pleasantly paced gait.

"Castiel, horse whisperer," Dean commented, amused.

"I don't understand -" Castiel started to say.

"- that reference, I know, Cas. Don't worry about it. You're good with animals, that's all I meant." Dean shot him a smile and patted his own horse, pleased that the creature beneath him seemed content to walk at a reasonable pace now.

"Ah. Well, thank you." Castiel settled into comfortable silence, just enjoying the rhythm of his horse and the fact that Dean was beside him, and for once not in imminent danger.

Dean cleared his throat slightly. "So...what brought this on?" He asked tentatively.

"Having a day out, you mean?" Castiel clarified. When Dean nodded, it was Castiel's turn to be cautious. "I came to the conclusion quite some time ago that I would appreciate spending more time with you. It seems as though I only see you when either of us is in danger or needs a favor, but our bond is strong enough that we really should be together more often, and for less troubling reasons."

Dean sifted through that, thinking. "So, you just wanted to spend some quality time with me?" He asked.

"You could put it that way," Castiel agreed. Inwardly, he had an entire monologue of confessed feelings he wished to divulge, but he didn't think now was the right time.

Unsure whether or not this question was appropriate, Dean hesitantly asked, "Is this, like, a...date?"

Castiel turned to face Dean, gauging his expression for a moment before nodding. "It was intended to be such, if you were willing to view it that way."

Slowly, as those words sunk in, Dean felt a broad grin stretch his face. Castiel had taken him out for the day, and it was a date. Castiel was interested in him. That thought bounced around his mind without showing any signs of stopping. "That's great, Cas," he finally managed to reply.

"I'm glad you are pleased," Castiel admitted, relief evident in his voice. "I was trying to be...subtle, I suppose."

Dean almost snorted a laugh. "Dude, I hate to break it to you, but subtle is not your thing. Trust me, I'm good with up front and honest. Taking it slow is good too though." He added the extra clarification, knowing that the odds of Castiel understanding anything about developing a relationship were pretty slim.

"Don't worry, Dean," Castiel assured him. "I was already talked out of any kind of elaborately passionate confession of feelings. Besides, I prefer this method. We get to spend time together, and properly assess how this will progress." He smiled at the thought.

Distracted by Castiel's smile, it took Dean a second to latch onto the first part of what he'd said. "What do you mean talked out of? Who were you talking to about me?" It only took a glance at Castiel's mildly guilty expression to connect the dotes. "Oh God, you talked to Sam about me?"

"I needed human advice," Castiel explained. "Sam knows you better than anyone, and he was not remotely surprised by my intentions either. He was quite helpful."

Dean groaned. "I'm sure he was. So, what did he tell you?"

"We mostly discussed human customs when it came to affections and relationships. I know you well enough to know that a straight forward declaration of the intensity I would project was not a wise course of action, and Sam suggested I try testing the waters, so to speak, before actually diving in." Castiel shifted slightly in the saddle, feeling the muscles in his rear starting to feel sore.

"Yeah, I don't really have a history of doing well with commitment," Dean admitted. "Plus, I haven't been honest with Sam about the fact that I've been...I dunno, developing feelings for you I guess, for awhile."

"Sam knows that," Castiel contradicted him. "That's why he encouraged me to pursue you at all. He wants us both to be happy."

Dean rolled his eyes, but he managed to smile at that. "Yeah, good old Sammy the romantic. So, now that I'm being honest and we're on a date, does this mean we have to have the big feelings conversation with all that intensity you mentioned?"

Castiel smiled softly and shook his head. "I like the human development of a relationship, Dean. We should progress forwards and take it one day at a time."

Relieved, Dean smiled back. "That works for me."

The rest of the ride was calm, casual, and just plain fun. Dean hadn't felt so relaxed in years, and that was even taking into consideration his aching ass, which he did manage to overcome his embarrassment enough to ask Castiel to fix. After their ride, the hunter and angel went to get dinner, which Castiel had long since learned to enjoy, despite his lack of need for the food.

It was early evening when they returned to the motel, reappearing in almost the same spot they had departed from.

Castiel did not seem even a little bit surprised by Gabriel's presence in the room, nor by the fact that the archangel was currently wrapped around Sam Winchester.

Dean, on the other hand, was completely shocked, and all memory of his previous mention of being cool with Gabriel following them flew out of his mind at the sight in front of him. "What the hell?!" He blurted.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

**I get excited when I have stories I really love to update, so writing new chapter for all three of the ones I have going is real joy right now. I'm so glad you all like this one! Thanks to Perry123, TearsOfARose, and Azawrath and Dusk for their reviews on chapter 8! **

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**Chapter 9 - The Talk**

Sam jumped in surprise at the sound of his brother's voice, but did not disentangle himself from Gabriel. Rather, he propped his head up with his arm so he could see over his archangel's head more clearly and commented, "Hey, guys. How was your date?"

"It went well, Sam, thank you for inquiring." Castiel responded, his tone sounding immeasurably pleased, which was an emotion the boys had rarely heard in his voice.

Dean was distracted by Castiel enough to not respond to Sam right away, but he finally manged to redirect his attention enough to demand, "What exactly did you spend all day doing?"

With a sigh of consternation, Gabriel turned his head so he could see Dean and asked, "What does it look like he spent all day doing, dumbass?"

"Hey," Sam said, his voice full of reproof. "Play nice, Gabe."

The archangel rolled his eyes, unapologetic. "I will if he does," He offered, winking at Sam.

"I just walked in on you spooning with my brother, short stack. Give me a minute to adjust before I decide whether or not I want to hit you," Dean warned him.

"Dean, remember the conversation we had yesterday about Gabriel?" Sam asked, his tone firm and serious with intent.

Allowing his memory to drift back, Dean reluctantly remembered telling Sam that the fact that Gabriel had pulled the younger Winchester out of hell essentially earned him forgiveness in Dean's book. "Just because I decided he'd earned my forgiveness for all the crap he's pulled doesn't mean he isn't still an ass," Dean insisted.

"What is it about Gabriel and Sam's relationship that bothers you, Dean?" Castiel asked, his tone clearly confused. His head was tilted slightly and his eyes were squinting at the hunter.

Distracted by Castiel's expression, which quite frankly Dean thought was freaking adorable, it took Dean a minute to respond with, "It's not the relationship that bugs me." At Sam's skeptical look, he amended with, "I mean, it is, but that's just because it's Gabriel. Seriously, Sam, you decide to get with an angel and it has to be the most obnoxious angel in Heaven?"

"Most creative," Gabriel corrected. "Not most obnoxious."

"That's true," Castiel agreed. "My friend Balthazar would easily take the title of most obnoxious."

Gabriel started laughing, and he and Sam finally separated into a position more amenable for a conversation, although they left their hands intertwined. "Good point, Cas. Balthazar is a pain in the ass. Pun intended." At Sam's simultaneously withering and questioning look, Gabriel quickly added, "Not my ass, I just meant in general. The guy's a sex fiend and incredibly irritating." He paused for a second and added, "I like him."

"I do as well," Castiel commented, nodding in agreement. "He is one of my oldest friends."

Dean was staring at both of them with confusion. "What on earth equals friendship with you guys?"

Castiel responded first. "He supports me." He said simply.

"Oh, in Heaven?" Dean asked for clarification.

Castiel nodded. "In fact, he is one of the only angels that was immediately on my side without explanation, apart from Gabriel."

"Doesn't mean he gets to know I'm here," Gabriel said pointedly, sounding like he was reminding Castiel of something they'd already discussed.

"I am aware of your wishes, Gabriel," Castiel responded, sounding tired, as though repeating himself.

"Just so we're clear." Gabriel replied mildly, leaning closer to Sam. "I'm kind of busy now."

"Hey, just because you have me to distract you doesn't mean you get to shirk your responsibilities," Sam chastised him. "Helping Cas in Heaven is important, and I will kick your ass out of this motel room to go help him if I have too."

Gabriel gawked at Sam for a moment before he started laughing. "Whatever you say, Sammy," he replied with a grin. "I guess the sooner we get the Heaven situation under control, the sooner I can spend more time on Earth anyway."

"That is true," Castiel confirmed. "It would be a blessing to both of our budding relationships."

"So you guys are a thing now?" Gabriel asked excitedly.

Castiel thew an appraising look at Dean, not sure exactly how seriously to label whatever relationship they had formed during the day.

Rescuing Castiel from his uncertainty, Dean was the one who answered. "Yes, we're together, but we're taking it slow. We want to do it right."

"It's good to do it slow the first time," Gabriel said with a straight face. "If you go too fast you could hurt something and have to abstain for a few weeks."

Dean flushed crimson, Castiel looked really confused, and Sam smacked Gabriel upside the head lightly.

"Dude, seriously?" Sam complained.

"Honestly, Sam, how could I miss that perfect opportunity?" Gabriel pleaded, winking at his hunter, who rolled his eyes in response.

Dean was still flushed, and he looked pissed. "I don't ever need to hear anything like that out of you again," he threw at Gabriel, irritated.

"I don't understand -" Castiel began.

"Trust me, you don't want to," Dean interrupted. He thought for a moment before adding, "Well, at least, not yet anyway."

"C'mon, Dean, I don't want to hear that!" Sam protested, cringing at the mental image.

"How can you complain about me when you've been tonguing the king of innuendo all day?" Dean demanded, more amused than anything else.

"We weren't limited to tonguing," Gabriel corrected, grinning when Dean went scarlet again.

"Okay, enough," Sam said firmly. "No more veiled or even expicit references in public company to what we do in private. Is that clear?" He looked between Dean and Gabriel pointedly.

"What, you aren't going to warn Cas?" Gabriel asked, sounding put out at the unfairness.

"Cas is the last person I'm worried about spouting off innuendos at inopportune moments," Sam pointed out.

"He's got a point," Dean admitted.

"Are innuendos a positive or negative thing?" Castiel asked, voicing himself finally. "This conversation is sending conflicting messages."

Dean started chuckling. "Depends on the company, Cas. Around our brothers? It's weird. Alone, well..."

"DUDE." Sam interrupted, gritting his teeth.

"Alright, Sammy, chill!" Dean said with a grin.

"Don't call me that," Sam contradicted him out of habit. He caught Gabriel's raised eyebrow and thought at him: _When Dean says it I feel like his five year old brother. When you say it it sounds like a term of endearment or something._ Gabriel started grinning and Sam made a face at him. _Shut up. It's just...I only like it when I can tell the person is saying it because they care. Not because they're trying to get a rise out of me or something._ Sam gave Dean a pointed glance, and realized his private conversation with Gabriel was being scrutinized with confusion on Dean's part and amusement on Castiel's.

"If you two are so close already," Castiel began questioningly, "why have you not bonded? Your silent conversations would be far more easily communicated."

"What do you mean bonded?" Sam asked, ignoring the look of realization on Dean's face at Castiel's words regarding silent conversations.

"Uh-uh," Gabriel interjected. "Not yet. That's a whole different conversation, and you and I have been in a relationship for like a day and a half. Let's take the scenic route, okay?"

Sam gave him a skeptical look, but didn't protest.

"This is so weird," Dean muttered, but he finally left his position of tension by the door in favor of the sofa, turning on the television as he sat down. "As long as you don't have sex in the room, I'm cool." He called back towards them.

Sam flushed crimson again, but Gabriel just chuckled. "As if I'd do something so special in a motel room," he scoffed, sounding like Dean had insulted him. Waggling his eyebrows at Sam he added, "I prefer a penthouse suite."

At that comment, Sam couldn't help but grin.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

**I'm so glad you all are enjoying this! I love reading your reviews! Thanks to Perry123, AkitoSin, DanielleMJSH, and lbZegoej for their reviews on chapter 9! This is me getting all adorable/serious with Sabriel, and Destiel will have a similar talk about the future soon!**

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**Chapter 10 - Our Future**

The next two days following Dean and Castiel's discovery of their brothers' relationship went by as smoothly as could be hoped. Castiel whisked Dean away for a date each evening, and they both returned each time looking sickeningly happy. Sam and Gabriel, by contrast, never went anywhere. Sam was building up an intolerance to random angelic appearances as a result of Gabriel's tendency to appear behind him while he was working.

Without fail, Gabriel would always appear directly behind Sam, completely silent, then startle the hunter with a sudden onslaught of kisses. The first time Sam had almost taken the archangel's head off, but the second time he merely jumped violently before relaxing into Gabriel's affections.

On the third night after each couple had officially declared themselves, Dean and Castiel vanished to go visit, as Castiel had put it, "A particularly lovely spot in East Asia." Sam found their frequent field trips amusing, and he loved seeing the dopey lovey-dovey look Dean had plastered on his face whenever he got back from a date. Dean had never really been romanced in the way Castiel was pursuing him, and Sam thought it was adorable. Dean deserved someone who wanted to make him happy for once. If the excessive amount of smiling Castiel was doing was any indication, the older Winchester was making Castiel pretty happy too.

Sam, for once, knew when Gabriel was going to show up, and he had about half an hour to kill. The archangel was busy tracking down something for Castiel, and had volunteered for the overtime, so to speak, so Castiel and Dean could still go on their date. Sam didn't mind. Gabriel being a good brother put him in Dean's good books, which made Sam's life easier. Plus, Gabriel would more than make up for lost time when he did arrive.

His laptop was open on the table, and Sam eyed it with a half formed idea in his head. Did he really want to go there? With a resigned sigh, he loaded the fan fiction website where he had first read about himself and Gabriel. Kasey Kinder didn't have any other stories about him and Gabriel - he'd checked - but she did have plenty about Dean and Castiel. Now that the hunter and angel were actually in a relationship, Sam avoided those. Reading about them having sex would be too weird when it was more than likely that it was going to actually happen. Not that it had yet, because Sam was pretty sure the couple was still taking it slow. That was another indication of how much they actually cared about each other. They were both so dedicated to making sure everything worked out. With Sam and Gabriel, there was a much more immediate passion about their interactions. Not that they were having sex yet either, but that was mostly Gabriel's idea, which was weird anyway. He had explained to Sam that he wanted their perfect first time to be part of something bigger, which he wasn't ready to explain to Sam yet.

Scrolling through the results to distract himself, Sam clicked on a promising looking link and began to read. This particular writer was graphic, and she got graphic really fast. It only took a few paragraphs for Sam to become hard, but he was ignoring his arousal in favor of the story. He was so engrossed that Gabriel was able to appear behind him and read over his shoulder until he finished without Sam noticing.

"Sammy, I'm touched!" Gabriel teased, pressing his lips to the side of Sam's jaw softly.

Sam started, but didn't jump. He turned until he could capture Gabriel's lips with his own, and they kissed gently for a moment before Sam replied. "I was bored. And curious."

"Apparently this fan fiction stuff works for you," Gabriel observed, glancing pointedly at Sam's erection.

Sam blushed crimson. "It was...detailed."

"I know, I read most of it," Gabriel told him. That made Sam blush even more furiously, which was an intoxicating sight to Gabriel. "I agree, it was good."

Sam tried to calm himself down and took deep breaths. "You still don't want to...?" He trailed off, knowing Gabriel would know what he meant.

"Not yet, kiddo," Gabriel confirmed, shaking his head with a small smile. "Trust me, it'll be freaking fantastic when it comes." He paused and added, "Pun intended."

Rolling his eyes, Sam stood up from the chair and tugged Gabriel towards the bed, lounging against the pillows and pulling the archangel into his arms. "Can you at least give me a hint as to what it is we're waiting to do exactly?"

"It's kind of a big deal, Sammy," Gabriel told him. "I just want to make sure we're one hundred percent ready, you know?"

Sam knew that this wasn't only about having sex, because Gabriel talked about this future event with a kind of reverence, but he couldn't figure out why. "What exactly do we need to be one hundred percent ready for?" He prompted.

Gabriel hesitated, then sighed. "Alright, fine. I guess we can have this conversation now. I just didn't want to spring this on you."

"Gabe, spill," Sam ordered, a smile on his face. "I just want to know already!"

"Okay, okay!" Gabriel surrendered, holding up his hands to indicate his acquiescence. "So, remember the other day when Cas mentioned bonding?"

"Yeah..." Sam replied, drawing out the word. "What about it?"

"Well, when an angel finds their soul mate, they bond with them to cement the relationship. It's like entwining their graces into a union. I guess you could call it an angelic marriage. It very rarely happens between angels and humans though. Like virtually never. It's a draw for an angel though, so I'm feeling a near constant pressure to just bond to you this instant. The reason I haven't, before you ask, is because it's a big deal. I mean, would you basically propose to someone after dating for less than a week?" Gabriel gave Sam a pointed look, even though the question was clearly rhetorical.

"I guess not?" Sam offered, figuring that's what Gabriel was looking for.

"Right, because that would be crazy. It's not just the commitment though, although that's a big part of it. Basically we'd belong to each other for eternity, including Heaven after you die. Bonding basically gives me permission to live with you in Heaven eternally. That's a long time, kiddo. It also includes a mark, since you're human you would need a sign that you belonged to me. Think Dean's handprint. It's an indication of my grace being in union with your soul. It also opens a channel of sorts. You'd have control enough to block it if you wanted to, but if you didn't I'd be able to feel all your emotions and read your mind with effortless ease, and you'd be able to do the same to me, unless for some reason I blocked you. I'd also be able to find you no matter where you were, and you would be able to talk to me even if I was nowhere near you. It's a big deal, Sammy, and I didn't want to spring all this on you so soon. That's part of the reason I wanted to wait on the sex thing too. It's important to me because it's you, and I want it to be special I guess. Does that make sense?" It was clear from Gabriel's eyes that he fully expected to have scared Sam off with this explanation.

"Just to be clear, were you just explaining what would be entailed should you decide to propose to me, or was that you proposing?" Sam asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Uh..." Gabriel didn't have an answer ready for that.

"Either way, whenever you ask, my answer will be yes, Gabe." Sam pulled Gabriel closer and kissed him deeply before letting him fall back and smiling. "Eternity is fine with me."

Gabriel gaped at him. "None of that freaks you out?" He demanded.

"Nope," Same replied, making a popping noise on the 'p'. "I'm not saying we have to do it now, but I am saying that I want it. Now, next week, next month, or even in a year, whenever you want."

The archangel still looked shocked, but a contented smile made its way onto his face. "Well, I have a plan then, so how about I just surprise you?"

"That works for me." Sam sought out Gabriel's lips again, and they remained distracted by that occupation until well into the evening.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

**I'm so glad you all are enjoying this! It makes me unreasonably happy to see new reviews every day. I just wanted to warn you guys that this story is rated M, so there'll be some smut in your future. It's still probably a few chapters away, but it is coming. In case there's people who don't want to read that, I'll make sure to let you know in the author's note beforehand. Anyway, thank you to TearsOfARose, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, WritingGhost, .rain, kdarnell2, Perry123, Monsters-Need-Love-Too, and Phoenix Autumn for their reviews on chapter 10!**

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**Chapter 11 - Romantic Dinner**

The following evening, Dean was standing in front of the motel mirror adjusting his tie out of nervousness more than actual necessity. Thank goodness Sam wasn't in the room to tease him. The younger Winchester and his archangel had already left to go investigate a case that had cropped up in the area. Normally the brothers would have moved on by now, but they hadn't really had a reason to, and sometimes it was nice to stay put for a little while. Now that Sam had actually found a local case, they had a reason to stay, and Dean wasn't complaining. Traveling so much could get old.

Dean had been informed by Castiel after their date yesterday that he should wear a suit for this date, and Dean was insanely curious as to where the angel could be taking him. Feeling nervous about his was wearing and where they were going seemed like such a teenage girl thing to do, but Dean was past caring. Pursuing this thing with Castiel was making him happy, and he knew from the expressions he kept spotting on the angel's face that Castiel was happy too.

The whoosh of wings indicated Castiel's arrival, and Dean turned to see his angel, his jaw dropping in shock. "You changed!" He blurted in surprise.

Csatiel glanced down at himself, as though this was news to him as well. "Only marginally," he countered. He was still wearing a suit and trenchcoat, but what Dean had immediately noticed was the fact that the suit he was now wearing was actually tailored to his body, and included a suit vest. It was black and fitted, and very flattering.

"You look awesome," Dean managed to say, still gazing at Castiel in shock.

Castiel smiled shyly and ducked his head, a habit Dean had discovered the angel tended to utilize when complimented. "I thought it time to outfit myself with clothing that actually fit me," he admitted. "Your suit is quite attractive as well."

Dean glanced down at his own suit and smiled, pleased. "Thanks, Cas." He had put on his nice suit that he wore whenever he had to pretend to be somebody important, as opposed the cheap suit that he wore most often on cases. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Castiel informed him, his eyes twinkling.

Dean was too occupied by Castiel's face to comment on that. Ever since he and the angel had begun their relationship, Dean had become hyper aware of every facet of Castiel's facial expressions. Somehow, being around Dean allowed Castiel to show more emotion than normal, and he had begun to show a wide variety of smiles and general expressions in reaction to things Dean said or did. It made watching the angel mesmerizing, and Dean found himself easily distracted.

"Are you ready to go?" Castiel asked him, hand hovering above his shoulder hesitantly. He knew Dean didn't like flying, and was constantly in awe that the hunter continually allowed Castiel to transport him this way.

"Sure, Cas," Dean agreed, and a split second later he felt Castiel make contact with his shoulder.

When his equilibrium reestablished itself, Dean took a second to look around and try and figure out where he was. He could see a river, no - a canal, in front of him, and there were buildings lining either side. To his left was a restaurant overlooking the canal, and boats were moving at a leisurely pace up and down the canal. It took a moment for Dean to put the pieces together. "Holy crap, Cas, are we in Venice?"

Castiel's answering smile was amused. "Indeed. I thought we could have dinner by the canal."

Dean whistled low under his breath and followed Castiel to a table, dimly aware of the lit candle on the table and rose decorations on everything. "So, romantic dinner in Venice?" He asked, smiling so Castiel would know he appreciated it.

"That was my intent, yes," Castiel confirmed. "I thought it would be a good atmosphere in which to talk." A waiter appeared soundlessly next to them, and Castiel turned to say something in fluent Italian before turning back to Dean.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You speak Italian?" Before Castiel replied, he shook his head and commented, "Never mind, I bet you speak everything." He chuckled when Castiel nodded in agreement at that. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I know we are still fairly new to this relationship dynamic," Castiel began, "but I was hopeful that we could discuss the future."

Dean was quiet for a moment, eyeing the glass of wine that had appeared in front of him without his notice by way of the freakishly quiet waiter. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he finally replied. "Anything specific about the future, or just broad strokes?"

"I did have a specific topic in mind, yes. First, what would you like to eat?" Castiel indicated the menu in front of Dean.

The hunter picked up the menu, but put it down again when he saw that it was completely in Italian. "Dude, I can't even begin to read this. Some kind of meat is fine. Steak, maybe?"

Castiel's lips twitched in amusement and he turned to speak to the waiter, who had magically appeared again.

Dean eyed the waiter as he walked back into the restaurant just to make sure he wasn't vanishing and reappearing, and that he was actually moving like a regular human being. Castiel's nervous swallowing redirected his attention. Castiel didn't have very many nervous habits, and most of them were only noticeable to Dean because he knew the angel so well. "What is it, Cas?"

"Well, this is a relatively serious conversation," Castiel said slowly, "and I am attempting to decide the best way to broach certain topics."

"Just be straightforward, Cas," Dean encouraged. "I'm not going to take off or anything. We're in Italy, remember? I can't exactly leave. Not that I would. I'm here to listen."

Reassured, Castiel adjusted his position so his posture appeared more confident before he began to speak. "Do you recall the other day when I mentioned that our brothers would be benefited by bonding?"

"Vaguely," Dean confirmed. "What is that, anyway?"

"That is what I wanted to discuss with you, at least in part," Castiel informed him. "It is essentially a very powerful binding of angelic graces, although were I to perform a bonding ceremony with a human, it would be grace and soul coming together. However, you and I are already partially bound, which is why we have always had such a close connection and draw to each other."

Dean's hand immediately went to his shoulder, where the familiar scar was. "How?" He asked.

Castiel hesitated, looking as if he was trying to decide how to explain something. "When I raised you from perdition -"

"Dude, just say Hell," Dean interrupted. "Nobody says perdition."

Giving Dean an exasperated look, Castiel continued with, "Alright then, when I raised you from Hell, you were in pieces. You are bound together with some of my grace. I suppose you could say I am the glue holding you together."

Dean considered that for a moment. While he didn't exactly feel like a puzzle that had been glued together by angelic grace, that would explain the need for Castiel's presence he had felt for so long. Nothing ever seemed quite right until the angel was with him. Not that he had associated that with his own more romantic feelings until recently, but the need to be together wasn't new. "I think I understand that," he said slowly. "What exactly does that do? Like, how does it affect you?"

Castiel mused over that before answering. "Well, I assume you felt as desire for my presence, which would have been caused by my grace attempting to reach out to me. For me, because I am not tethered to your soul, I felt no such necessity. I chose to spend time around you because I wanted to, but I did not feel the pull in the way you probably experienced. However, I am well attuned to your well being as a result of my grace present within you. For instance, were I to enter the restaurant and no longer be able to see you, I would still be able to sense that you are currently safe and in a pleasant mood."

Dean winced. "You've been on the same wavelength as my moods this whole time? Man, Cas, I'm sorry. That can't be easy." Various instances in which he'd wanted to smack various friends and family members upside the head ran through his mind and he winced again.

"You tend to vary between many extremes when it comes to your moods," Castiel commented, his tone agreeing with Dean's statement.

"That makes me sound like a PMSing chick," Dean complained. "I get excited sometimes and I get pissed sometimes. It's not complicated."

"You are certainly no middle-aged woman," Castiel confirmed, looking as though he considered that a compliment.

Dean let it go and chuckled at Castiel's expression. "Thanks. I think. So, is there a way to complete the bonding so it goes both ways?"

"Yes," Castiel answered hesitantly.

"And?" Dean prompted. "What do we have to do?"

"Dean, it is a very serious ceremony, and has eternal ramifications." Castiel offered for consideration, his tone tentative.

The hunter rolled his eyes. "You say that like you expect me to have a problem with having you around for eternity," he teased. "I don't. What, is this like the angelic version of getting married?"

Castiel nodded. "That is an accurate way to describe it, yes," he replied.

Dean considered that before responding again. "I know we've been building our relationship the slow human way, Cas, but I have to say, I'm totally cool with the idea of marrying you, human-wise or angelically. If you're not ready for that yet, I can wait, but don't delay because you don't think I'm up for it. I'm not letting you go ever, so eternity is an awesome concept in my head."

Castiel had to let that sink in before he could respond. "Are you certain you want to proceed with such immediacy?" He asked.

"I'm not saying we need to do it right this second," Dean clarified, "but whenever you want to, I'm ready. Even if it's not now, but next Christmas or on my birthday or something. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready."

Castiel nodded slowly. "I am ready as well," he informed Dean. "Perhaps we should attempt to make the event special? You and I have an anniversary coming up. I believe making the date significant would make the ceremony additionally special to us both. This would also give us time to further progress our relationship before committing so permanently."

Dean was counting in his head, trying to figure out what anniversary Castiel was talking about. Something had occurred to him, and now he was trying to figure out the exact day.

"Are you alright, Dean?" Castiel asked after a moment of silence.

Dean held up a finger. "Give me a second, I'm thinking." He mouthed the numbers and his eyes flickered around the area while he thought. "That was the next week..." he muttered, thinking out loud. "Count backwards..." He mumbled a few more numbers before his eyes lit up. "September 18th!"

Castiel's eyes widened in understanding and he relaxed. "I'm glad you remember," he commented. "Even if it did take you a while."

Dean made a face at him. "I didn't exactly write it on the calendar and surround it with little hearts, Cas. You scared the shit out of me that day. You do remember that I shot you that day, right?"

"My apologies for frightening you, and I did forgive you for your rather unorthodox attempts to kill me," Castiel said wryly. "Does my power no longer frighten you?"

"Nah," Dean bluffed. "Now I know you're just an adorable little angel." He grinned at the fuming expression that appeared on Castiel's face. "Kidding! Don't smite me!"

"As long as you still recognize that I can smite you," Castiel said with a huff.

Dean laughed. "Yes, Cas, you're terrifying. Happy now?"

"Marginally," Castiel allowed.

Dean continued to chuckle, but tried to steer them back to the original topic. "So you want to make the 18th the day we do the ceremony? That's in like two weeks."

"Is that acceptable?" Castiel asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Yeah, Cas, I think we can handle two weeks. Is this like a private thing or a ceremony people watch?" Dean had a vision of a church type wedding ceremony in his head, but he didn't think that's what Castiel meant by ceremony.

"If you so wished, we could do it both ways," Castiel informed him. "It is primarily a private ceremony, but if you wanted witnesses, we could do the oath in front of our brothers."

Dean was about to agree to that plan before something occurred to him. "That depends. How gushy is this oath?"

"It is merely a statement of devotion and commitment, Dean," Castiel replied. "If you are concerned about our brothers making fun, Gabriel knows better and Sam will likely follow his lead. My brother would never disrespect a bonding ceremony."

Dean nodded at that, reassured. "In that case, I'm in. The 18th it is. I feel like I need to make an announcement."

"It would probably be wise to tell Sam," Castiel allowed, smiling. "Perhaps Bobby as well?"

Dean sat up straight in surprise. "I should probably tell Bobby you and I are dating before I tell him we're getting angel married," he admitted.

Castiel's lips twitched at that. "That would be advisable. Would you like to visit him after dinner?"

Dean nearly jumped in surprise as he noticed the food that had appeared in front of him. "Woah, this looks amazing," he breathed, eyeing the steak hungrily. "Yeah, Bobby. After dinner. Wow." He glanced up to see that Castiel had a bowl of some kind of potato soup and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I enjoy the taste of this particular dish," Castiel informed him, sipping delicately from the spoon.

Grinning at that, Dean took a large bite of his steak. Nothing about this seemed out of place or too fast, as it might have been in your average human relationship. Dean was Castiel's and Castiel was Dean's. Everything about their relationship seemed natural, and suddenly Dean couldn't wait to have the bonding ceremony.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

**I get so many great comments on this fic, and I've met some great people from writing here. If you ever want to say hi or follow each other on Tumblr (SupernaturallyImagined) then feel free! I love meeting you guys! That being said, I want to thank r2metoo, shidoni16, bespectacledfanwarrior, WritingGhost, Perry123, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, DanielleMJSH, .rain, DeansMuse, and one guest for their reviews on chapter 11!**

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Making Plans**

After dinner, Dean called Sam to let him know that Castiel was taking him to Bobby's, and asked if Gabriel would take Sam and meet them in South Dakota. After figuring out that Dean wasn't going to tell him why, Sam agreed and hung up the phone.

Dean had been absentmindedly touching his shoulder frequently since Castiel had explained the bond to him, in much the same way a married or engaged person might play with their ring. It was as if he couldn't stop playing with it, although really all he did was tap at it absently.

Castiel, who was privy to even the smallest movements when it came to his hunter, found the newly developed habit endearing, and the reason for it made him exceptionally pleased. He was also amused that Dean seemed largely unconscious of the habit, which resulted in numerous times that the hunter caught the angel staring at him for no apparent reason.

"Are you ready to leave?" Castiel asked Dean, smiling softly at him from across the table.

"Yeah, sure," Dean agreed, pushing his dessert plate back. "Time to tell the folks."

"It will go well, Dean," Castiel assured him, standing and moving to Dean's side.

"No, I know. It's just important, and I don't want to mess it up." Dean stood as well, and indicated to Castiel that he was ready. "C'mon, let's go."

With a touch, Dean suddenly found himself having to adjust to Bobby's scrapyard. He was about to speak when Sam interrupted him.

"There you guys are! Come on, we're all waiting!" Sam shouted at them from the backdoor, looking equally curious and impatient.

Dean chuckled and made for the door, Castiel following him swiftly.

Bobby, Gabriel, and Sam were all seated around the kitchen table, looking relatively serious.

"Dean," Bobby greeted him as the elder Winchester entered the room. "I swear, you boys have more major life events in a month than most people do in their whole lifetime. I just saw you a few weeks ago, and now you're both dating angels?" He looked highly skeptical, even though he had clearly been witness to the not particularly subtle duo of Sam and Gabriel for the last little bit.

"Sorry, Bobby. It wasn't that we weren't telling you, we just hadn't had a chance yet," Sam apologized. Based on the look on Bobby's face, Sam had probably already apologized, and Bobby was just being gruff with them out of habit.

"Yeah, well, I can't say that I'm all that surprised about you two," Bobby admitted, gesturing to Dean and Castiel. "Took you boys long enough to figure it out."

Dean's eyebrows skyrocketed, but he left that comment alone.

"Now you two on the other hand," Bobby continued, looking at Sam and Gabriel now, "I would have never guessed. I mean, I can't say I don't see it, with you sitting there being coupley and all, but it's still weird."

Gabriel laughed out loud at that. "We definitely had less angsty eye sex than Dean and Cas, that's for sure. Speaking of the happy couple, why are we here?" He turned to look at Dean and Castiel with a raised eyebrow.

"We have an announcement," Castiel said simply, looking to Dean to actually say the statement.

"Right," Dean confirmed, taking a deep breath. "So, Cas and I have decided to compete our angelic bond thingy." His eloquent description was met with a grin from Sam, a twitch of amusement from Castiel, a pleased "I knew it" expression from Gabriel, and a small smile from Bobby.

"So you two are getting angel hitched?" Bobby asked, his smile becoming more pronounced.

"Essentially," Castiel confirmed. He was cut off from saying anything else by Bobby pulling the pair of them into a bear hug.

Sam waited for Bobby to finish before asking, "When?"

"September 18th," Castiel replied. "While the ceremony itself is largely private, Dean and I decided to take the oath before witnesses." He glanced between Bobby, Sam, and Gabriel so it was clear he specifically meant the three of them.

"That's in two weeks!" Sam pointed out with surprise.

"Too fast or two slow?" Dean asked him, not sure what Sam was surprised by.

Sam shrugged. "Neither, I guess. Any particular reason for that day?"

"It's the day he scared the crap out of your brother and I," Bobby answered wryly. He had a head for dates.

Sam made a noise of comprehension. "So it's like your anniversary," he teased, grinning again.

Dean shot him a look, but Castiel smiled and nodded. "Exactly." At the warm tone in Castiel's voice, Dean turned his gaze away from Sam to meet his angel's unwavering stare.

"No eye sex around your brothers!" Gabriel proclaimed loudly, causing Sam and Bobby to wince and Dean and Castiel to roll their eyes at him in unison. Ignoring that, Gabriel turned his attention to Castiel. "Cas, can you and I talk? I need to ask you something. Sam, I'll be right back. Play with Dean and Bobby."

Sam turned to make a face at him, but he and Castiel had already vanished.

"So," Bobby said, looking at Dean. "Tux or wedding dress?" He howled with laughter as Dean chucked a heavy book at his head.

* * *

The angels hadn't gone far. They were only outside in the yard. Gabriel lounged against a rust bucket that might have once been an actual car and gazed fondly at his little brother. "I'm proud of you, Cas."

"Why?" Castiel inquired, tilting his head slightly at Gabriel.

"For getting out there and making a move. Bonding is a big deal, probably bigger than Dean even realizes yet. I'm proud of you for putting yourself out there." Gabriel smiled broadly and moved over so he was closer to his brother. "I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had."

"What idea?" Castiel encouraged, curious as to what Gabriel wanted to talk alone about.

Gabriel paused slightly to find the words before diving into his explanation. "Okay, so the main sign of a bond between grace and soul is a mark on the human. Obviously you've already marked Dean, and eventually I'll mark Sam, so that part's essentially a done deal."

Castiel interrupted him with a surprised question. "You intend to bond with Sam?"

"Of course," Gabriel replied immediately. "I already have an awesome proposal to give and everything. I've been kind of waiting for the right moment, but both of us are ready now. Anyway, this is about the ceremony."

"Alright, continue," Castiel told him, pleased that his brother was going to bond as well.

"Well, human custom for weddings is the exchange of rings. I know we don't do that, but I thought of a way we could, but make it extra special." Gabriel was getting excited now, his expression animated.

"What is it?" Castiel demanded, equally eager.

"We each make a ring for our human out of one of our own feathers," Gabriel revealed, looking pleased with himself.

Castiel's eyes lit up at the idea. Angel wings were complicated. In their natural state, they were glorious feathered limbs. However, if necessary, they could become weapons for battle. In this case, the feathers would shift into a dangerous metal state that allowed even the gentlest angel to look like a fearsome warrior. The metal typically imitated the true color of the angel's wings. Castiel's battle wings were a glorious ebony, and he knew that Gabriel's were a vibrant gold. "That is an incredible idea, Gabriel," Castiel breathed in awe.

"I know!" Gabriel enthused, still grinning. "Here's the next part. I go to Dean and get something metal of his that's important, and you got to Sam and do the same, then give them back rings to give to us, but we'll keep the feather rings a secret until our ceremonies."

Castiel looked thrilled with the idea of wearing a ring from Dean. "You are a genius, brother," he informed Gabriel solemnly.

The archangel just smirked at him and winked. "I'm glad you like the idea," he told Castiel seriously, though his expression remained playful.

"It is a joyous thing to be filled with hope and desire at the prospect of bonding with one's soulmate," Castiel mused.

"Indeed," Gabriel agreed. A moment later he broke the quiet by suddenly declaring, "I'm going to go abduct my soulmate and propose, since that seems to be going around. You go stare at yours, or whatever it is you guys do." With that, he vanished, leaving a bemused Castiel to head back to the house and Dean.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:**

**Alright, time for another chapter! I'm so glad you guys all loved the last one so much! Thanks to TearsOfARose, DanielleMJSH, moria galadrial, Queen Beanie, Perry123, and VioletIsInPain for their reviews on chapter 12!**

**Special thanks go to obsession-is-my-life for helping me figure out a minor plot point I was stuck on. You rock!**

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Here's To Our Tomorrows**

Sam was halfway through insulting Dean for making fun of Gabriel when he vanished. It probably would have freaked Dean and Bobby out more if Castiel hadn't appeared a second later to tell them Gabriel had absconded with the younger Winchester for his own purposes.

For Sam, it was extremely disorienting to suddenly have his scenery change without warning. In a split second he had gone from staring at Bobby's kitchen to gazing around wherever he was now, and he wasn't sure where that was exactly.

"Bear with me, Samsquatch," Gabriel called from somewhere behind him.

Sam turned to look for the archangel, but he was suddenly completely distracted by the ceiling. "Holy crap, Gabe. Are we...?"

"Yeah, we are," Gabriel acknowledged, finally emerging from behind a display case to Sam's left. "I wanted to pick somewhere memorable."

Sam was having trouble tearing his eyes away. "I'd say the Sistine Chapel is pretty freaking memorable. How come it's empty?"

Gabriel looked slightly guilty at the question. "Everyone may have suddenly become really interested in the museum next door," he admitted.

Chuckling at that, Sam finally managed to tear his eyes away from the artwork above him, only to see an entirely different kind of artwork in front of him. "Woah, Gabe, you look amazing."

The archangel was wearing a muted gold tailored suit with hazel colored accents, and his hair was smoothed back. "Thanks, kiddo, you look pretty fine yourself." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sam was about to debate that point, given what the clothing he'd put on this morning, before he realized that he was now wearing a charcoal grey suit with green accents. He raised an eyebrow at Gabriel. "You dressed me?"

"It's an occasion," Gabriel offered as an excuse. "Sue me for implementing a dress code."

Sam grinned at him and adjusted the sleeves on the suit jacket. "I can't complain. This thing feels awesome."

Gabriel was pleased, and gestured for Sam to follow him. "Here, I have something for you."

Following the archangel with interest, Sam was led to the exact center of the building. He was still fighting to keep his attention on Gabriel rather than the artwork, but Gabriel looked so damn gorgeous in his suit that it wasn't really that hard of a fight.

Stopping him, Gabriel turned around and held out a rectangular box. "I made this for you. It's kind got historical significance for us, and I wanted to have something to mark this moment."

Curious, Sam accepted the box and cracked it open. Inside was a gorgeous rosary, not dissimilar to the ones he and Dean used to bless their holy water on a regular basis. This one was made of wood though, and the wood was sealed and shined with something. The wooden beads and cross were strung together with a magnificent silver chain that seemed to move like water. "This is beautiful," Sam murmured, although he wasn't sure what the significance was exactly.

"It was hard to make," Gabriel revealed. "I had to travel through time to get some of that stuff, which is kind of exhausting."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Cas has almost gotten himself killed with time travel," he said accusingly, suddenly worried about Gabriel's health.

"I'm fine, kiddo. Stronger than Cas, for one. That's not the point though. Aren't you going to ask me what that rosary is made with?" Gabriel looked eager to answer the question Sam hadn't yet posed.

"Alright, Gabe, I'll bite. What's the rosary made from?" Sam asked, his lips twitched with humor at Gabriel's mood.

Extending a hand, Gabriel took the rosary from Sam and held it up, pointing out various aspects as he named them. "The cross is carved from the stake you had when we first met. The beads are carved from the stake you threatened me with in Broward County, and all of the wood is sealed with the holy oil you trapped me in after the TV land stunt. The chain is made from the angel blade I went up against Lucifer with. Something from each time you and I met, whether it ended well or not. Each element of this is a part of our history, and it's something that might keep you safe in the future." He handed it back to Sam, smiling softly.

Now openly gaping in awe at Gabriel, Sam looked at the rosary with a new fascination. "That's incredible, Gabe," he responded, his voice low and emotional as he fingered the beads that now meant so much more.

"Okay, now, I have a question for you, and I want you to know that the only reason I'm doing it from down here while you're all the way up there is because that's the human custom, and I figured it was worth it to throw a little tradition in here." Gabriel's tone was simultaneously amused and nervous.

Confused for a moment, Sam suddenly looked down to see Gabriel on one knee, admittedly suddenly a lot closer to the ground than Sam was. He opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to say anything.

"I know you've already given me your opinion on this, but I wanted to officially ask, with all the romantic stuff that accompanies an event like this. Special location, special gift, and special question. Sam Winchester, will you do me the honor of bonding with me for eternity?" The sincerity in Gabriel's voice rang throughout the chapel, echoing off the walls.

Most of the responses that flew to Sam's mind were far more emotionally gushing than he would ever admit to considering out loud. After finding his voice, he managed to reply, "Yes," and that was all he really needed. He immediately had his arms full of archangel, and it occurred to him belatedly that the way they were groping each other had to be at least a little sacrilegious given their location, but somehow he didn't really care.

Gabriel's attentions were equally diverted, his joy obvious in every touch and kiss he bestowed upon the hunter. From the reactions he was earning from Sam, it was clear that the feelings were mutual. In the back of his mind, Gabriel felt a little smug. As far as memorable proposals went, he figured he'd done pretty well.

* * *

Sam was returned to Bobby's house the following evening, despite his protestations to Gabriel that there was still a case in the area where he and Dean had been staying. The archangel had reassured him that it was just a spirit and he would deal with it before leaving the hunter and heading off to do just that.

It became clear that the plan to stay at Bobby's must have already been decided upon, because at some point Dean had gotten Castiel to retrieve the Winchesters' things and the Impala from the motel they had been staying at, and everything was now at Bobby's.

Sam had to admit that he was okay with that. They didn't really see Bobby often enough, and sometimes it was nice to have the family dynamic going on, even if they weren't exactly your average family.

Upon returning, Sam had let Bobby and Dean know he was back, which they both took in stride without really asking him much about his disappearance. Castiel, however, seemed very interested, and requested to speak privately with Sam.

"Uh, sure," Sam replied with a shrug. "I guess we can go upstairs."

Nodding in agreement, Castiel followed Sam into the younger Winchester's bedroom and watched as Sam took a seat on his bed.

"What's up, Cas?" Sam asked curiously.

"How was the proposal?" Castiel asked as an opener.

Sam smiled softly. Of course Castiel had known. He was the only brother Gabriel really trusted right now, so of course Gabriel would have told him. "It was great, Cas. I could be easily be a teenage girl about it and give you all the details and just gush for hours, but I'll just say that it's a memory I'll treasure forever." He rubbed his neck awkwardly and shifted to distract himself from the blush he just knew was coloring his cheeks.

Castiel was smiling, looking exceptionally pleased. "I am glad. Your bonding ceremony is actually what I wanted to address. You know, of course, that Gabriel will mark you?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we've talked about that. What about it?"

"Well, I know that it is common human custom to exchange rings as a sign of bonding, or marriage, if you prefer. Obviously Gabriel will give you his own mark, but if you wanted to give him something as well...I am perfectly capable of fashioning a ring for Gabriel out of anything you might deem significant." Castiel explained the idea clinically, but he couldn't disguise how excited he was, the emotion showing in his eyes.

Smiling broadly, Sam nodded eagerly. "That sounds great, Cas. Let me think for a minute."

The angel promptly lapsed into silence, watching Sam consider the idea with his patented stare that lacked anything remotely approaching subtlety.

"I've got it!" Sam exclaimed suddenly, standing up quickly and leaving the room. He could be heard rummaging in a hall closet for a moment, then he returned holding an old laptop. "This is the computer I was carrying around when I first met Gabe. He screwed with it to make me think Dean was messing with my stuff and get us to fight with each other. It's basically the very first thing he ever did to get on my nerves. It doesn't work anymore, and it's got meaning for us."

Castiel looked at him quizzically. "If it no longer works, why do you still have it?"

Sam shrugged. "Parts of it are still good. I left it here ages ago because I figured Bobby could ransack it for parts if he ever needed any technology bits. It's still intact though, so I guess he forgot about it. Anyway, this will be perfect."

Accepting that answer, Castiel gingerly took the laptop from Sam and considered it carefully. After a moment, he concentrated his grace onto the item and it vanished, though Castiel now held his hand in a fist. "Hold out your hand," Castiel instructed.

Quickly sticking out his open hand, Sam cupped it slightly as he felt cool metal fall onto his skin. He pulled his hand back and held it up for closer inspection. The ring was perfectly sized, he was sure. He was positive it would fit Gabriel. It was bright silver, the exact same as the laptop, and had a running line down the center of white, like the edge of the laptop had been. Examining the center, he could see running lines and hints of circuitry that represented what the ring had once been. Sam grinned up at Castiel. "Thanks, Cas. This is perfect."

"It was my pleasure, Sam. I look forward to your ceremony nearly as much as my own. Finally, both of us will see our brothers at peace and happy, no matter what else may come and try to cause trouble." Castiel looked serene as he said this.

"It's about time," Sam acknowledged, pocketing the ring. "Gabriel and I haven't really picked a date yet. We just figured we'd wait a couple of weeks so we wouldn't steal your thunder or anything."

Castiel made a face at him. "As if your joy would be in contest with ours," he pointed out derisively.

"No, I know, Cas, I just figure we might as well have separate anniversaries, you know? You and Dean picked a day that means something to you. Gabriel and I don't really have a date like that, and we don't want to snag yours, obviously." Sam explained with his hands, lowering them awkwardly when he realized he was overusing them to illustrate his sentence.

"When did you first meet?" Castiel asked, now suddenly determined to find his brother and Sam a perfect date.

"Uh...February maybe?" Sam offered, not entirely sure. He counted in his head, comparing memories of cases until he was sure. "Yeah, February."

"What about the Mystery Spot incident?" Castiel suggested, although he knew that Sam and Gabriel didn't really consider that to be a highlight of their encounters.

"Also February," Sam replied. That one he remembered with perfect clarity. "It was about a year after the first time."

"The time he trapped you in television programs?" Castiel mentioned, although he wasn't sure Sam was a fan of that particular prank either.

"I think that was in the fall sometime, or maybe early winter." Sam mulled it over for a minute before nodding to himself. "November, I think. Sometime around then."

"That's not terribly far away," Castiel pointed out.

"No, but it's not exactly a cherished memory, Cas," Sam responded, rubbing his forehead. "Although, we've made our peace with all of those things."

"When was Gabriel killed?" Castiel asked quietly. "His resurrection was the beginning of his occupation protecting you."

"That was in April," Sam replied, wincing at the memory. "I like where you're going with that, but the anniversary of his murder? Not exactly happy times."

"Well, then, what about the anniversary of the day he saved you from Hell?" Castiel offered in exchange, raising an eyebrow as if daring Sam to challenge that idea.

"That's in May," Sam commented unnecessarily. He thought about it for a moment, then allowed a small smile to occupy his face. "Yeah, I think that's an anniversary we can work with."

Castiel smiled, pleased. "Good. Now we will both have significant anniversaries for our oaths."

Despite the fact that Sam had up until an hour ago not really cared what date he and Gabriel were bonded on, the fact that there was a significant date they could do it on was suddenly important to him, and he was grateful for the fact that they had a chance to do it that way. "Thanks, Cas," he told the angel, grateful for Castiel's desire to help.

"Of course, Sam," Castiel replied, pleased with the turnout. "I am always happy to help."

May was another eight months away, but Sam could wait. What was eight months when an eternity was around the corner?


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:**

**You guys are the best! I'm so thankful for your reviews! I'm updating sooner this time because I'm about to be away from my computer for a week, so your next update will be a little late. Don't worry though, I'm not abandoning you! I will be back, I promise! Thanks to theconsultingtardisbananaangel, .rain, moria galadrial, r2metoo, Queen Beanie, bespectacledfanwarrior, Perry123, and one guest for their reviews on chapter 13!**

* * *

**Chapter 14 - Counting Down**

The next morning, Sam took a deep breath and cornered Dean and Bobby in the kitchen so he could tell them his news. Bobby gave him a quick hug and a pat on the back, gruffly informing the younger Winchester that he was happy for him.

Dean looked a little more shell-shocked, but he thawed out of his frozen reaction enough to imitate Bobby's congratulations, his voice still weak from surprise. "I'm happy for you, Sammy," he told his younger brother quietly. After releasing him, Dean ambled out into the yard, still looking distant.

"I should probably talk to him," Sam mused aloud.

Bobby snorted. "You boys are a piece of work," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Go out there and have that brotherly bonding time thing. I'll order in for lunch."

Sam grinned at his father figure and followed his instruction, moving into the yard after Dean. The older hunter was sitting on the hood of the Impala, staring into space. "Hey," Sam called, keeping his tone neutral. "You good?"

Dean looked up, startled but not surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...man, everything, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, leaning against the hood and glancing at his brother.

"We're..." Dean blew out a harsh breath and chuckled. "Damn, man, we're getting married. Both of us. How crazy is that? Like, who would have ever guessed either of us would get to have this?"

Understanding now where Dean's head was at, Sam nodded in agreement. "I know. Not that you and Castiel are a surprise. Dude, you guys have been circling each other every since the guy first appeared. It's about damn time you did something about it."

Dean managed to laugh at that, knowing it was true and able to admit it now. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm beyond ready, man. I wouldn't have guessed that even a few months ago, but hey, I'm getting married in less than two weeks and I'm freaking psyched." He smiled softly and rubbed the back of his neck before adding, "It's like my life was this complicated equation I'd given up solving, then all of a sudden I realize that I've been looking right over the solution the whole time, thinking he was a variable."

Sam gaped at his brother in shock. "Did you just use a math analogy to describe figuring out you were in love with Cas?" He demanded, his tone full of amusement.

Dean made a face at him. "Shut up, Sam. I did graduate high school I'll have you know."

"A GED barely counts," Sam retorted, but he was grinning. "I gotta say, the analogy works."

Making an approving sound, Dean relaxed and turned to face Sam. "What about you and Gabriel though? I mean, that one kind of hit me out of left field. Not that I'm objecting or anything, it's just..."

"I know, unexpected," Sam finished, nodding his agreement. "For me it wasn't that I was overlooking what was in front of me, it was that I wasn't looking at a finished puzzle, you know? Pieces were missing. Once it all fell into place, it kind of smacked me upside the head, and it was just right."

Dean made a thoughtful sound in response, nodding slowly. "I can see that. I gotta admit, the guy practically worships the ground you walk on. He's always looking at you like the sun shines out your ass."

Sam laughed out loud at that. "What about Cas?" He pointed out. "The guy moves around you like a satellite. He's completely attuned to you and you alone."

Dean let out a huffed laugh, realizing that was true. "I guess that's true," he acknowledged. "Damn, Sam, how'd we get so freaking lucky?"

"Maybe God cares more than we think?" Sam offered, not sure if he believed that. To his surprise, Dean nodded slowly in response.

"Yeah, maybe." Dean answered, his expression thoughtful. He glanced at Sam again and spotted a hint of the rosary peeking out from under Sam's shirt. "What that around your neck?"

"Huh?" Sam asked, not really paying attention. He glanced down automatically and gripped the cross, massaging it with his thumb and pointer finger without thinking. "It was a gift from Gabe."

"Oh?" Dean inquired, curious. "What is it? It looks like a rosary."

"That's because it is," Sam replied, taking it off and holding it up so Dean could see it better. "It was an engagement present. Gabe made it himself out of stuff from the times we'd met in the past."

Dean examined the rosary curiously, glancing up at Sam when he spoke. "Like what?"

"My stake from the college thing, my stake from the Mystery Spot, the holy oil from TV land, and the sword he went up against Lucifer with," Sam listed off, repeating the items Gabriel had told him went into the rosary.

"He made you a necklace out of stuff that was used to try and take his life?" Dean asked, his tone skeptical and confused.

"Sort of," Sam replied, putting the rosary back on and tucking it beneath his shirt. "It's more like a symbolic thing. None of those times ended so well for us, but they were all steps in getting us where we needed to be to find each other. He said that all the elements he used were once meant to hurt him, but he crafted them into something that would protect me, and our future."

Dean was quiet, gazing at his brother like he was seeing something new in him. "Somehow, I think I'll be able to deal with having Gabriel as a brother in law," he finally said, smiling slightly.

"I'm glad," Sam replied sincerely. "Tensions between you two can get pretty high sometimes."

"Hey, if he keeps his Trickster mitts off my car, he's fine," Dean responded, shrugging nonchalantly.

Sam chuckled at that. "I'll do my best to reign him in," he said wryly, knowing full well that he didn't really have any way of controlling his archangel fiance.

"I appreciate it," Dean shot back, his tone equally dry.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you alone with your thoughts out here," Sam told him. "You can continue counting the days until your wedding or whatever, and I'm going to go read for awhile."

"Sounds good," Dean murmured, waving his brother off. "I'll be in when the food gets here."

Chuckling, Sam headed back towards the house, leaving Dean to his thoughts.

Dean wasn't alone very long though, and the sudden appearance of Gabriel almost caused him to lose his balance on the hood of the Impala. "Geez, Gabriel! Warn a guy!" He complained.

"Sorry, Chuckles," Gabriel offered, walking forward slightly until he was at a more conversational distance. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" Dean raised an eyebrow, surprised. He and Gabriel didn't interact much, so he wasn't sure what the archangel wanted.

"Well, it's about Cas," Gabriel clarified, noticing how Dean's attention refocused at the mention of the angel's name.

"What about him?" Dean asked, attentive now.

Gabriel grinned at him. "Okay, so I had this brilliant idea. Obviously Cas already marked you ages ago, right?"

Dean rolled his sleeve up slightly until his handprint was visible, raised an eyebrow at Gabriel, then lowered it again.

"Right, well, obviously rings a more human sign of commitment, which really doesn't play into the whole bonding ceremony thing. I figured it would be nice for you though if you could have a way of showing that Cas is yours the way the handprint shows you're his. So, I'm here to help you make a ring for him." Gabriel swung his hands out as though presenting a show, looking pleased with himself.

"Make a ring?" Dean echoed. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but how do I make a ring?"

"You don't, Dean-o, I do. You just need to pick what it's made from. Something important to you and significant, preferably. Also, something metal, obviously." Gabriel tacked the last part on for clarification, looking up at Dean eagerly. "Any ideas?"

Dean's gaze slowly gravitated towards the car he was sitting on, and he made a noise of consideration. "Do you think you could make a ring from the Impala without damaging my car?" He asked, rubbing the hood like one might pet a dog. "Baby's easily the most significant thing I own."

Gabriel gazed at the car with approval, making appraising noises in response. "Yeah, I think I can work with this. Give me a second." The archangel placed his hand on the hood and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. When he moved away, his hand was cupped. "Alright, Dean-o, check it out."

Dean was surprised by how light and cool the metal was when it touched his skin. The outward metal was sleek black and gorgeous, just like the Impala. The inside was a thin line of black next to a thin line of tan, like the colors of the upholstery. It was beautiful, and Dean couldn't find words for a moment or two.

"Well?" Gabriel finally prompted, looking impatient.

"It's awesome, Gabriel," Dean told him, not looking away from the ring. "Seriously, this is perfect. It was a great idea. Thanks."

"My pleasure. I can't wait for your ceremony, to be honest. It's about time Castiel found his mate." Gabriel looked pleased, his eyes shining bright.

"What date did you and Sam decide on?" Dean asked, realizing Sam hadn't actually told them.

"May 14th," Gabriel told him. He had come back to stay with Sam overnight and had been told of Sam and Castiel's conversation. May seemed like a long way away, but he had to admit, the idea of a significant date was pretty tempting, and clearly Sam felt the same. They could be patient.

"Why May?" Dean asked with surprise. He considered it for a second, then added, "No, wait, hold on, let me guess."

Gabriel made an amused noise, but didn't reply, letting the hunter figure it out for himself.

"Okay, no that was in February," Dean mused, not explaining what he was referring to. "That one was in the fall...the thing in the cemetery...Oh, wow." He looked up in surprise giving Gabriel an appreciative look. "That's the day you pulled Sam out of Hell."

"Bingo," Gabriel replied, grinning. "All of our other significant dates don't have the same kind of triumphant result."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. May sounds good to me. You guys willing to wait that long?"

"For Sam? I'm willing to wait as long as I have to," Gabriel informed him, smiling softly.

Dean couldn't argue with that, and he had to smile back. "Yeah, somehow I think I'll survive having you around all the time," he told him, reiterating his earlier statement to Sam.

"Oh good," Gabriel said sarcastically. "Because you're the Winchester I'm most concerned about."

Dean had to laugh at that, and he rolled his eyes at the archangel. "Whatever, dude. I'm an important part of this Winchester thing you've signed yourself up for."

"I'll admit that," Gabriel acknowledged. "I plan on becoming an honorary Winchester anyway."

"What, like taking the name?" Dean asked with surprise. "Do angels do that?"

"Nope," Gabriel replied, grinning. "Cas and I both want to though. It's kind of a symbolic thing."

Dean smiled broadly at the mention of Castiel. "I like that idea," he admitted.

"Good, because pretty soon you're going to be stuck with us," Gabriel teased him.

"I'll only be stuck with you," Dean corrected him good naturedly. "I'm keeping Cas on purpose."

They both laughed at that, and Dean had to appreciate the easy camaraderie that had appeared between them. Not having an innate desire to take a machete to his brother's fiance's head was reassuring that things would end well for everyone involved.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:**

**I love you guys! The amount of people who latched onto the line "I'm keeping Cas on purpose." has made me so ridiculously happy. You guys rock!**

**Now, I have a very important question for you. This fic is currently rated T, and I need to know how many of you would like to see it turn into an M. I've been considering smut chapters for both pairings following their ceremonies, but I don't want to alienate the people not looking for smut, so if you could let me know either in a message or a review, that would be great.**

**Thanks to Sinthija, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, Riceball- 1989, Perry123, r2metoo, .rain, vampireharry the 2, and VioletIsInPain for their reviews!**

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Home Is Where The Heart Is**

Both of the Winchester brothers' significant others practically vanished over the following two weeks, leaving their partners to watch with amusement as the angels bickered over wedding details. For beings that hadn't seemed all that engrossed in the human trappings of wedding ceremonies, they had certainly taken a strong interest in the planning.

To be far, Castiel wasn't obsessing so much as he was avoiding Gabriel's input. Castiel knew exactly what he wanted to do, and how he wanted their ceremony to work, and even better he knew that it was what Dean wanted as well. However, it did not include a naked orgy within Saint Paul's Cathedral, which Gabriel apparently found massively disappointed. It was to Castiel's great relief that he learned Sam had also rejected the idea for his own ceremony.

Dean felt sorry for Castiel, but he had to admit that it was a little funny watching Gabriel go all mother-of-the-bride on him. Gabriel was pretty much the only family Castiel had anymore, and he was the older brother besides, which kind of made it seem like Gabriel was in the position of giving Castiel away, not that they were doing that at the ceremony. Dean actually found himself defending Gabriel, pointing out to an especially irritated Castiel that his brother was overeager because he was so excited, and probably because he had more than a little while to wait for his own ceremony, which was probably making him antsy. Dean had observed Sam dealing with the fidgety archangel and more than one occasion, and had to admit he was impressed with Sam's apparent skill at getting Gabriel to relax. Thankfully, Sam used that talent to get Gabriel to ease off Castiel a little bit and give the younger angel some breathing room.

"I promise, Gabe, you can make our ceremony as elaborate as you want," Sam told him. At Gabriel's expectant look, he amended, "as long as there aren't any naked orgies inside established places of worship." The archangel rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Fine, baby bro and Dean-o can have their simple ceremony. We're going to do it right though," he told Sam firmly, his eyes glinting with sincerity and a healthy dose of mischief.

Sam decided to leave well enough alone and let Gabriel have his fun. The archangel had a habit of surprising him with awesome and elaborate plans that Sam enjoyed in spite of himself, so letting his fiance go wild with their ceremony was probably going to work out in his favor.

Once Gabriel had given Castiel some breathing room, things slowed back down to normal, and the days began to pass more naturally leading up to Castiel and Dean's ceremony. In the last three days leading up to the chosen date, Sam caught Dean glaring at clocks on multiple occasions, as though willing time to move faster.

When the actual day arrived, Sam cornered Dean in his older brother's room and insisted on helping him adjust his fancy suit, which was a hell of a lot nicer than the suit he usually wore on hunts. Gabriel had been tasked with getting Dean a real suit by Sam, who figured if Dean was going to do this the simple way, he could at least wear something nice. Dean had put up with them both, especially after he discovered how good he looked in a tailored suit. It was navy blue, with light green accents, and Sam tied Dean's tie himself, pretending to strangle his brother briefly with a grin before tucking the tie into place under his suit vest.

"Ready?" Sam asked, his eyes lit up with excitement.

Dean threw another look at the mirror, confirming that he did in fact look awesome. He was so rarely out of his casual hunting clothes that he'd almost forgotten what it was like to dress up. Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze to Sam and nodded firmly. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's go downstairs."

Gesturing towards the door, Sam followed Dean out of the room and down the steps, moving into the living room where Bobby was leaning against his desk looking thoroughly well groomed and unbelievably pissed.

Giving the older hunter a double take, Dean blurted, "What the hell happened to you?"

Instead of answering, Bobby leveled a glare at Sam and in a frighteningly even tone stated, "Boy, if you ever let that feathered ass touch me again I'll shoot your ass full of rock salt and set your hair on fire."

Sam's lips twitched as he positioned Dean in the middle of the room, then leaned against the wall opposite Bobby. "Noted. You clean up nice though, Bobby."

"It's true," Dean confirmed, grinning at the obvious irritation radiating from his father figure. "I'm not sure I've ever seen you this clean."

"I'm not sure a human's meant to be this clean," Bobby muttered, pulling at his collar. The suit he was in was nowhere near as nice as what Dean was in, but it was still several steps above his normal FBI suit. It was about on par with the suit Sam was wearing, although the tall Winchester's outfit fit him far better than Bobby's did.

Distracting them all from how they were dressed, Gabriel appeared in the room next to Sam, wearing a silver suit with a fuchsia tie. He caught Sam giving him a skeptical glance and shrugged. "What?"

Sam rolled his eyes, but was spared from commenting by the appearance of Castiel, who was suddenly standing only a few inches from Dean. That in and of itself was a new distraction, because of the people in the room, only Dean had ever seen Castiel in anything other than his vessel's clothes, and even that short wardrobe change hadn't been dramatically different. Now, Castiel was not wearing his trademark trenchcoat, but was instead wearing an ebony suit with an electric blue undershirt and pocket square. The suit was tailored and styled, and while none of the others in the room might have felt it appropriate to comment, the unwavering stare of Dean was evidence enough to how attractive Castiel looked.

Looking over Dean approvingly, Castiel smiled and nodded appreciatively. "You look quite handsome, Dean," he informed his partner calmly.

It was as if Castiel's comment had reminded Dean that he was also wearing a fancy suit, and he quickly looked down as though confirming his attire hadn't changed in the five minutes since he'd seen himself in the mirror. "Thanks, Cas. You look...well...damn." He blew out a huff of air through his mouth, looking embarrassed at his lack of eloquent expression.

Luckily for Dean, Castiel seemed to understand his meaning just fine, and his eyes were warm in response. Turning slightly to greet Sam, Gabriel, and Bobby, Castiel nodded to them each and asked, "Are we ready to begin?"

"Ready when you are," Gabriel confirmed, moving forward and ushering both Bobby and Sam into standing positions in front of where Castiel and Dean were facing each other. "Peanut gallery assembled and ready, Cas. Proceed." He snapped a quick salute and grinned, allowing himself to lean up against Sam, who could easily stand without balance issues if the smaller man used him as a support.

Smiling at those he considered his family, Castiel returned his gaze to Dean, whose eyes had not shifted from Castiel during the entire exchange. "Are you ready, Dean?" Castiel asked softly.

"Absolutely," Dean replied with surety, the determination in his eyes sparking.

Pleased, Castiel nodded in acknowledgement before speaking again. "The oath we share now is primarily symbolic, and done before witnesses as a sign of commitment. The latter part of our ceremony, which will be private, will include a more binding version of the oath, which I will speak in Enochian." His voice was calm and sure, a power radiating from his words as he spoke.

Dean's eyes did not leave Castiel's the entire time the angel was speaking, merely nodding when he felt like he ought to be agreeing with something.

"Dean, repeat after me. If I say my own name, substitute your own when you speak." Castiel instructed firmly, waiting for the hunter's acknowledgement before continuing. "I, Castiel, Seraph of Heaven," he paused, indicating that Dean should announce himself.

"I, Dean Winchester, uh...hunter of Earth?" Dean offered, not sure what he was meant to substitute. He relaxed when Castiel nodded in assurance.

"Do entrust myself to my true mate, under the sight of God and the Host." Castiel allowed passion to infiltrate his tone, giving his words a far more powerful meaning than his more natural monotone could have presented.

"Do entrust myself to my true mate, under the sight of God and the Host," Dean repeated, his voice equally sincere and passionate.

"Accepting the love and life of my mate in an eternal bond," Castiel continued seeming to almost swell with joy as he spoke this line.

Dean repeated the line, his voice mimicking Castiel's in both tone and sincerity, a smile playing on his lips.

"This I swear by my life and that of the one I hold most dear," Castiel said in conclusion, his change in tone indicating the seriousness of the statement.

"This I swear by my life and that of the one I hold most dear," Dean repeated firmly, his eyes locked onto Castiel's with such intensity that the two of them would probably be oblivious to any natural disaster that might carry away the house around them.

"Forever, we are one by bond." Castiel added with finality, relaxing slightly and allowing a natural smile to overtake his expression.

"Forever," Dean confirmed, knowing that this was Castiel's line, not part of the oath. Because this was technically a wedding, Dean moved forward and kissed Castiel, relishing how the angel shifted immediately to shape around his form. They had grown to be quite skilled at this, and there was no longer any hint in Castiel of hesitation or ignorance when it came to the human way to express love and affection. He was now natural at everything from comforting hugs to the most intense of make out sessions, and that change was one of Dean's favorite things about his relationship with Castiel.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and a torrent of rice began to pour from the ceiling, immediately covering the five men standing in the room.

"The hell?" Dean spluttered, the fall of hard rice startling him out of his embrace with Castiel.

"It is rice, Dean," Castiel informed him quickly.

"I get that, Cas. What I don't get is why." Dean glared at Gabriel, or where he thought Gabriel was still standing, as his vision was obscured by cascading rice.

"There's rice at weddings!" Gabriel insisted, dodging Sam's attempt to swat him.

"I am not above frying you with holy oil," Bobby threatened darkly. "Shut off the damn rice faucet and clean my house before I'm forced to become a Chinese buffet."

Gabriel chuckled, but complied. The rice vanished, and Dean and Castiel relaxed. The angel looked far more amused than the hunter, but Dean reluctantly smiled after a moment as well.

"We must go," Castiel told him softly, still smiling with pleasure.

"Oh, okay," Dean agreed, waving vaguely at the people he was apparently leaving now. "Where to, exactly?"

"It's a surprise," Castiel informed him with a twinkle in his eye. He lay his hand over the imprint Dean bore on his shoulder, and they vanished.

Sam picked a grain of rice out of his hair and flicked it at Gabriel, ignoring the petulant expression the archangel threw back at him. "Dude, no rice at our ceremony," Sam stated, picking out another grain and glaring at it with irritation.

"Fine," Gabriel sighed dramatically. One would think he was being martyred.

* * *

When Dean got his bearings, it still took him awhile to figure out where he was. It was familiar, but something was off. He finally figured it out, and spun to face Castiel with surprise. "The barn?" He asked for confirmation.

"Indeed," Castiel replied with a pleased grin. "I have made some modifications."

"I'll say," Dean replied, casting a gaze over the plush carpet that covered the barn floor and the enormous bed that dominated the room. Only the walls were untouched, caring faded symbols from the time Dean had attempted to kill what he had considered an enemy at that time.

"This is not the only place I have to show you," Castiel informed him, "but I thought it would make a nice stop for our first evening, hence the sleeping arrangements."

Dean nodded in agreement, still distracted by all of the symbols on the walls. "I can't believe they never repainted this place or tore it down or anything," he marveled.

"A barn in disrepair is not high on anyone's list of things to take care of," Castiel commented. "Especially if it does not belong to anyone, and this barn does not have an owner."

Making a noise of interest, Dean moved his hands to his pockets and strolled over closer to Castiel, pausing when he felt his fingers close around the object he'd almost entirely forgotten he had placed there.

"What is it?" Castiel asked, noting Dean's sudden distraction.

Taking a deep breath, Dean pulled the ring out of his pocket and stood in front of Castiel with it gripped tightly in his palm. "Cas, you know how you did the whole marking thing on me, and that's a sign of the bond?"

Castiel's eyes flitted to Dean's shoulder and back up as he nodded. "Indeed."

"Well, in human marriages, we signify a bond with rings. You've already claimed me, but I wanted to give you something too. So, I have this. It's made from the Impala, which is one of the five things closest to my heart." Dean held out the ring to Castiel, already knowing it would fit perfectly.

His expression joyous, Castiel accepted the ring and slid it onto his ring finger, admiring the black gleam. "It is perfect, Dean. Thank you. What are the other four things closest to your heart?" His eyebrows raised slightly with amused curiosity.

"Well, five things in addition to the Impala," Dean amended. "I had to add something to the list." At Castiel's quizzical expression, Dean listed off, "You, Sam, Bobby, Gabriel, the Impala, and pie."

"Gabriel makes your list?" Castiel asked in pleasant surprise.

"He's a recent addition," Dean pointed out. "I figured since he's marrying my brother I ought to consider him family. That means he's on the list."

"Gabriel is a good brother to have," Castiel confirmed. "For example, it was his idea for me to create this for you, as a more evident sign to the Earth of our bond, as your mark is so often hidden." Castiel produced a ring almost identical to the one Dean had just given him, but the black of this ring was practically iridescent, and seemed to flow like water despite the fact that it was clearly a cool metal.

Taking the ring in awe, Dean slipped it on and held it up, admiring it from different angles. "What is this made from?" He asked in awe.

"One of my battle feathers," Castiel replied, moving forward to place his arms around Dean's waist and tuck his head in the space between Dean's head and shoulder.

Dean was full of questions at that revelation, but he swallowed them and turned around in Castiel's grasp so they could face each other, placing his arms around Castiel's waist in a similar way.

"Are you ready?" Castiel asked, repeating his earlier question.

"I can't wait," Dean assured him, the expression in his eyes leaving little doubt in the matter.

Castiel shifted his hand up to grip Dean's mark, his own eyes glowing with expectation and excitement. "Then I suggest we move to the bed."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:**

**Warning: This chapter is M for smut.**

**Now that I've got that out of the way, thank you all so much for your reviews! You all are so complementary, and it's awesome getting to talk to some of you as well. Thanks to nurscutiz, Altamiya, theconsultingtardisbananaangel, JessMust7, Casbutt-in-Camelot, moria galadrial, dragonrose21, Riceball-1989, .rain, XxZessxX, shadowdancer33996, one guest, and AnimeWolf524 who has just started reading and has been wonderfully generous so far.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 16 - Hold Me Close**

It was with a slow anticipation that Dean and Castiel moved closer to the bed, neither one looking away from the other's face. Dean found the sight of Castiel empowering, which was good because he had no idea what he was doing.

Dean was by no means a stranger to sex, but this was different. It wasn't different just because Castiel was essentially a man, although that was a big part of it. This was important, because Castiel was _the one_, in ever cheesy and hopelessly romantic sense of the term. Dean had very rarely had occasion to stay with any partner past one night, and this time he was planning to stay forever. If nothing else, he felt a little nervous.

Despite the internal monologue of thoughts Dean couldn't seem to suppress, Castiel looked calm and serene, his expression carrying no sign of trepidation.

Castiel reached the bed first, but he didn't climb onto it. Instead, he pulled Dean to him, and removed the hunter's suit jacket and began to remove his tie. "I need to be able to access your mark," he commented quietly in explanation.

This was the part Dean wasn't even a little bit worried about. The bonding was a firmer connection between himself and Castiel, an eternal connection, and he had been waiting for that for what seemed like too long. He assisted Castiel in removing the rest of the top half of the suit, which included an awful lot of buttons, but they managed to get his shirt off, and finally his mark was visible.

Reverently, Castiel rested his hand against it, fitting the mold perfectly, and Dean had to take a deep breath to control the overwhelming sensations running through him. He didn't even have a word for the feeling.

Softly, Castiel began to chant in Enochian. Dean gave up trying to identify any of the words after a moment, and just listened quietly, focusing on the building sensations that were starting in his shoulder and radiating everywhere else. Castiel finished his chant with a crescendo of finality, and there was a sudden searing heat on Dean's shoulder, but it wasn't painful. The warmth quickly filled him, and it took Dean a moment to return his breathing to normal as he came down from what he wasn't sure was even accurately describable as a high.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Castiel told him with a small smile. He flexed his hand and laid it flush with Dean's mark once more, and suddenly there was a stiffening of Dean's body as he was hit with an onslaught of emotion. After a moment, Castiel tempered it off, and Dean relaxed.

"Holy crap," was the most coherent comment Dean could manage. "Can I...? It goes both ways, right?"

"Of course. I will leave it open for you this time." Castiel replaced his hand, but did not send any emotion to Dean, merely waiting.

It took Dean a minute to figure out what he was doing, and then his brow was furrowed in concentration as he sent back his reciprocation of the love Castiel had just flooded him with. To his satisfaction, the return onslaught seemed to knock Castiel slightly off balance, and it was reassuring to Dean that it wasn't just an overpowering sensation for a human.

"Can we do that without the contact?" Dean asked curiously after he ended the flow.

"Yes, but it will not be quite that intense," Castiel explained. "It will be more of a general awareness of each other. Also, telepathic communication will be far easier."

Dean nodded at that, vague memories of their brothers communicating that way occurring to him. "Awesome. I know the first thing I want to do."

"What is that?" Castiel inquired. He was saved from having to question further by Dean's lips on his. This was something they were good at. At first, Castiel had not been particularly skilled at any aspect of human romantic interactions, but between internet research he knew better than to admit to and practice with Dean, he felt like he had a pretty good grasp on the concept. There was also the fact that because he did not need to sleep, eat, or in any other way take care of human needs, he could essentially spend the rest of his life kissing Dean without stopping. Only the fact that Dean was still a human with necessary functions to take care of stopped him from doing just that.

After a moment, Dean pulled back slightly and eyed Castiel's body, still encased in the luxury suit. "Cas, as freaking amazing as you look in that, I think you're wearing too many clothes."

That made Castiel smile, and he shifted his arms to take them out of the suit coat. He thought about using his grace to simply vanish the offending layers, but something told him that doing this action the human way would be better.

Dean certainly seemed to appreciate the piece by piece disrobement of his angel, and occasionally assisted when Castiel found himself befuddled by a button or clasp that was proving difficult. After a moment, Castiel was bare-chested as well, and Dean found the sudden amount of skin completely mesmerizing.

This time it was Castiel who intiated the kiss, and within moments the lovers had fallen on top of each other on the bed, Castiel on top of Dean and taking every advantage of the fact that Dean was shirtless to explore.

Equally entranced by Castiel, Dean clasped his hands to the back of his angel's shoulders, moving up and down his back and massaging with his fingers whatever spots that Castiel seemed to react to the most. This came to a head when he ran his fingers down Castiel's spine, and the angel arched his back immediately, gasping as though suddenly desperate for air.

"Woah!" Dean exclaimed, surprised. "So, I guess that's sensitive?"

Calming slightly, Castiel nodded. "On this plane of reality, that is where my wings join together. It is...quite sensitive."

Dean arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Your wings can appear in this reality?" He asked.

Castiel hesitated. "Not exactly. Technically, yes, but it is my understanding that the manifestation of them would be too concentrated a burst of grace, and I could easily burn out the eyes of any human who happened to witness them."

"Oh. Damn. Wow." Dean tried unsuccessfully to keep the disappointment off his face.

"Do you desire to see my wings?" Castiel asked curiously.

Dean tried to be nonchalant, but couldn't really manage it. "Well, yeah. I mean, not if it's going to burn my eyes out, but if I could...yeah, I would love to."

Castiel nodded, considering that. "It is possible," he said slowly, "that being my mate might exempt you from the kind of dangers exposure to my grace might normally cause."

"Possible like we can try it or possible like I might be blind in the morning?" Dean asked warily.

"The odds are relatively good, I believe," Castiel replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Regardless, I am willing to try if you would really like to see them. Keep your eyes closed at first, and I will monitor your body's reaction to my grace in order to determine the safety."

Dean's lips twitched slightly at the clinical way Castiel explained it, but he obediently shut his eyes. "Alright, go ahead."

There was a soft fluttering noise, much like the sound that accompanied Castiel every time he popped in and out of a room, and suddenly Dean could _feel_ his angel's grace. It was different from the sense of Castiel's power that he always had. Somehow, it was like Dean had suddenly been forcibly reminded that Castiel could squash him with a thought, and that fact was suddenly incapable of being overlooked. It wasn't a bad feeling though, and Castiel's grace seemed to surround him like a blanket. There was nowhere he couldn't feel it, and he never wanted to let it go.

"I believe you can open your eyes, Dean," Castiel told him warmly. Despite the lack of confidence in his word choice, the tone of his voice was positive and hopeful, and it was clear that he expected Dean to survive the experience with his eyeballs intact.

Slowly, as though trying to get used to a sudden onslaught of light, Dean opened his eyes.

How had Castiel ever been complete without his wings? Dean couldn't fathom him any other way. They were massive appendages, and the ebony shine they gave off made it seem like they were constructed out of gemstones, not feathers. In a word, they were beautiful, but even that word was not even remotely appropriate to describe them.

"Are you alright?" Castiel asked, his expression torn between concern and amusement as he gazed at Dean's face.

"Yeah," Dean breathed, still not tearing his eyes away from the wings. "Damn, Cas, I don't have words. You're...just, wow." Part of Dean's fascination stemmed from the fact that the wings were pure Castiel. They had discussed the vessel situation before, since Dean felt a little weird about the whole Jimmy thing, but as it turned out, Jimmy's soul had gone on to Heaven already. Castiel had been brought back after Raphael killed him with the awareness in his mind that the body that had been a vessel was now his personally. In a way, Castiel was just like Gabriel now. Gabriel had created his vessel for himself, and could manifest as a human at will, because he controlled the body. Castiel now had control of his body in much the same way, because it was his now. Still, Dean felt a kind of purity emmenating from Castiel's wings that was different from his body. Dean did love Castiel's body, and he thought the angel was freaking adorable, but his wings were a part of his true form, not the human body he'd taken on, and there was something so much more intense about this part of Castiel.

"You know," Castiel commented conversationally, with amusement in his eyes, "When I stare at you with this intensity, you call it creepy."

Dean blinked and slowly brought his gaze back to Castiel's face. "Heh, yeah. Sorry. I guess I got kind of mesmerized."

"It's quite alright," Castiel replied, his tone still pleased. "I myself am overjoyed that you are capable of witnessing them on this plane."

"Is it okay if I...?" Dean asked, holding up a hand in question.

"Of course," Castiel encouraged, ruffling his wings slightly to accentuate his assent.

Dean stretched forward slightly and ran his fingers over the right wing, pausing when a full body shudder and look of pure ecstasy came from Castiel in reaction. "So, apparently wing touching is a turn on?" Dean mused, starting to grin.

Castiel attempted to give him a petulant look unsuccessfully. "My wings are the most intimate part of my physical manifestation of grace, Dean," he informed him. "It is a very stimulating experience."

"Hmm." Dean eyed him speculatively and stroked the wing again, grinning broadly when he got a stronger reaction than before. "I think I can work with this."

It quickly became evident that although Dean had discovered the most intense erogenous zone Castiel had, the angel was equally skilled at getting reactions out of the hunter. Within moments, the two were entangled in a flurry of limbs, with Dean's hands constantly gripping at Castiel's wings, and Castiel's hands tracing every muscle he could find and repeatedly creating love bits all over Dean's collarbone.

"We need..." Dean tried to say, gasping before continuing, "to ditch the pants."

Looking amused, Castiel raised an eyebrow, silently asking Dean a question through their connection.

"Yes!" Dean agreed immediately, gripping Castiel's wings tighter in response.

Arching his back with a cry, Castiel barely managed to retain enough focus to remove their remaining garments with his grace, leaving them both completely naked and creating an even more intense interest in each other's bodies than had existed before. Suddenly, with so much more skin to play with, both hunter and angel made themselves quite busy.

It became clear quickly that Castiel could engage in this form of foreplay indefinitely. Dean had to pull away finally, gasping, and giving Castiel what he was pretty sure was the most desperate look he'd ever had in his life. "Cas, in me, _now_." Was as coherent as he could manage.

Thankfully, Castiel didn't make him wait any longer. Spontaneously bringing a bottle of lube into existence, the angel coated three fingers and moved the first down, teasing slightly before seeing Dean's expression and relenting, entering him slowly. Castiel kept eye contact with Dean the entire time, relishing the changing expressions on the hunter's face as he grew used to the new sensations. When Castiel had built up enough momentum with one finger, he added the second, beginning to stretch slowly as Dean grew more comfortable. When Dean had relaxed, Castiel lined up his fingers with what he had determined was the properly angle, shoved them in fully, and curved, striking the perfect spot in Dean to make the hunter arch up and cry out. Pleased, Castiel added the final finger, just to be safe, and continued stretching Dean until the hunter was breathing hard.

"Ready?" Castiel asked, quickly coating his already aching erection and giving Dean a minute to collect himself.

"Yes, yes, yes," Dean gasped out, spreading his legs wider unconsciously.

Lining himself up, Castiel paused with the head of his cock pressed against Dean's entrance for a moment before entering swiftly, bottoming out in one go and stopping, giving Dean a second to adjust to the intrusion.

Dean didn't need long, or wasn't willing to wait, because after only a second he was doing his best to glare at Castiel, panting and saying, "_Move_," with as much emphasis as he could manage.

Perfectly willing to oblige, Castiel began to thrust, at first deep and long, with a set slow rhythm, but soon he was moving faster, increasing the rhythm with nearly every thrust, until he was moving exactly as fast as Dean seemed to want, striking Dean's prostate dead on with nearly every thrust of his hips. His movements grew more haphazard and desperate the tighter Dean's grip on his wings grew.

Dean appeared to be trying to say something, but every time he opened his mouth, it wasn't words that spilled out but noises of ecstasy and desperation, which grew more and more intense the faster Castiel moved. Finally, he managed to form the words, "I can't..." followed by a loud moan.

Castiel was right there with him, and nodded in acknowledgement, being close himself. He thrust twice more, hitting Dean's prostate both times, and the two collapsed in synchronization, each cumming with a loud cry of the other's name.

Not unexpectedly, Castiel seemed to recover first, and he maneuvered them into a more comfortable position, sliding out of Dean and waving away the mess so they could sleep. He pulled Dean into his arms, and nestled his head in the space between Dean's head and shoulder, his arms around the hunter's waist. As an afterthought, he tucked away his wings so he could lay on his back more comfortably.

"Mmm," Dean murmured, nuzzling back into Castiel's body. "That was amazing," he managed to say quietly.

"I agree," Castiel replied, kissing Dean's cheek and smiling softly.

"Worth the wait," Dean said with a sigh, clearly growing tired.

"Sleep, Dean," Castiel urged him, rubbing against the hunter's hair.

"Yeah, sleep sounds nice," Dean managed to respond. A moment later, it was clear that he has lapsed into slumber.

Castiel chuckled and kissed Dean again softly, before laying his own head against the pillow. He didn't need the sleep, but had grown to enjoy it. He allowed his eyes to drift closed, a smile on his face.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to AnimeWolf524, Perry123, nurscutiz, Riceball-1989, .rain, JessMust7, XxZessxX, and Treeni for their reviews on chapter 16!**

**I found the amount of you complaining about an inability to choose between hot and cute to describe the previous chapter very amusing, so thanks for the feedback! This chapter is mostly domestic fluff, because I didn't want to jump right into Sam and Gabriel's ceremony. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 17 - A Waiting Game**

Sam knew what he had signed up for when he planned his ceremony with Gabriel for May. His archangel intended wasn't exactly the most patient of beings. Sam was determined to wait though, and was feeling reasonably content with the way things were going, despite the fact that Gabriel had set up a countdown clock in Bobby's house that he refused to take down. After awhile, Bobby had decided to just ignore it.

Dean and Castiel had decided to take the whole "marriage" thing as seriously as possible, which meant getting their own house. It was exactly ten miles down the road from Bobby's, and no matter where Sam and Dean happened to be on the road, Dean always went home with Castiel at the end of the day. It was obviously good for them to have a home, and Dean liked to brag about all the features Castiel had added. The main hallway was decorated with a line of pictures, one for each place Castiel had taken them for their honeymoon. The first was the barn where they had met, followed by several other places of significance for them, including Van Nuys and the ranch Castiel had taken Dean to for their first date. Some of the locations were bad memories, but they were all significant in Dean and Castiel's journey. Sam had to admit that it was a clever idea, and the pictures always made him smile whenever he was visiting the house.

Sam and Gabriel, on the other hand, perpetually stayed with Bobby when they weren't feeling like staying in a motel. As soon as Bobby had made Gabriel promise to soundproof the house if he planned to "get frisky with Sam," the older hunter decided he was fine with it. The younger Winchester and his archangel didn't spend a ton of time at Bobby's anyway, but Bobby had to admit that he didn't mind the more frequent visitors.

The only real cloud on their sunny horizon that the family had had to deal with so far was Gabriel's impatience. It was a while to wait, but Sam was firm, and Gabriel would always sigh and acknowledge that Sam was right eventually. They made it through October and November without too much trouble, and by the time December rolled around, Sam was able to distract his archangel with Christmas.

"This holiday is wildly inaccurate," Castiel frequently complained. Gabriel had drafted him into helping to decorate, which Castiel thought was somewhat pointless. "We should be having this celebration in August, with considerably less glitter involved." Gabriel eventually told Castiel to shut up and stop moaning, and the younger angel finally gave in.

Dean was far more interested in Christmas now than he ever had been as a kid, and he put himself in charge of managing the angels that had been set loose on Bobby's home. They were all planning to gather there Christmas morning, which Bobby had very reluctantly agreed to. It had been Sam who finally convinced him, saying that Bobby hadn't had a real Christmas in way too long, which the older hunter had to acknowledge was true.

Sam, in fact, wasn't really a fan of Christmas, but something about having a fiance who had actually delivered the news of Jesus' birth seemed to pique his interest. The way Gabriel told it, Sam had sat him down and wormed out every possible facet of the story from him. Sam probably knew more about the Christmas story now than most Bible scholars. As a result, he was being a lot more amenable to the Christmas plan than Dean would have expected.

Presents were the most complicated topic. They had briefly discussed not exchanging gifts, but both Dean and Gabriel refused to accept that plan. As a result, everyone would get exactly one present for everybody else. Bobby tried protesting that he really didn't need anything, but everyone just ignored him.

A week before Christmas, Gabriel and Castiel disappeared with their respective hunters to a small town in Indiana where it seemed like Santa was eating people. It was exactly as disturbing as it sounds, and both Sam and Dean had trouble keeping their lunch down when they saw the victims. Castiel was especially bewildered by the creature's apparent decision to manifest as Santa Claus, while Gabriel seemed to mostly be upset about the fact that dozens of children were now terrified of a fun Christmas bedtime story. It took the foursome a few days, but Sam was the one who finally discovered that the culprit was a rakshasa, and when he explained to Gabriel what happened the last time they saw one, he had to follow the story with a strongly worded threat regarding the use of Sam's fear of clowns against him. Dean was understandably disturbed that this rakshasa was pretending to be Santa, and seemed to take great pleasure in killing it.

The hunt took a total of four days, and the two couples returned to Bobby's on what Dean called Christmas Eve Eve, even though Sam kept telling him that that wasn't really a thing. Bobby found the sordid tale of the cannibalistic Santa to be just as disturbing as everyone else, and tried to use it as an excuse to avoid gift giving. Gabriel shot his suggestion down, not to anyone's surprise.

Christmas Eve wasn't particularly eventful, except for the fact that at some point Gabriel put up mistletoe just about everywhere in the house, and it was enchanted so that if you stepped under it, you couldn't move until you were kissed. Sam was the first one to discover this, but he put up with it and kissed Gabriel good naturedly. Once the mistletoe was officially discovered, Bobby sat in one spot most of the day, explaining in a gruff voice that there's nobody currently in his house that he'd ever dream of kissing for any reason.

Dean and Castiel were targeted by the mistletoe about a half a dozen times each, but neither of them really seem to mind. In fact, Sam was pretty sure that most of the times Dean stepped under the mistletoe were on purpose.

They capped off the night with spiked egg-nog and an attempt at singing carols, but Sam and Dean didn't really know any of the words, Bobby refused to sing, and Castiel and Gabriel were stuck on versions of the melodies from when they were originally composed, which are unfortunately vastly different in most cases. They gave up on singing pretty quickly.

Even though Castiel could fly Dean home and back in the morning with ease, everyone stayed at Bobby's for Christmas. It's just a nice holiday to spend together, and there's something to be said for waking up in a full house.

Obviously, it was Gabriel who woke everyone up the next morning. He started with Sam, tickling the hunter's feet until the man nearly kicked him in the face.

"Gabe!" Sam protested, attempting to smack him with a pillow.

"It's Christmas, Sammy!" Gabriel exclaimed, as though that excuses the tickling. "Get out of bed!"

Sam rolled his eyes at that, of course, but he did get up and get dressed all the same.

Dean and Castiel were next to be woken, and Gabriel had apparently decided that playing "12 Days Of Christmas" as loud as he could in their bedroom was an effective wake up call. While that turned out to be true, Dean is apparently incapable of showing a decent amount of Christmas spirit at five in the morning.

Bobby was already awake by the time Gabriel reached him, and held up a hand before Gabriel could say anything. "I swear, I don't care how powerful you are, if you try any funny stuff with me, I will shoot you in the face."

Gabriel decided that two obnoxious wake up calls were enough.

It was almost six before Gabriel finally managed to get everyone into the living room where the tree is, but he did finally accomplish it.

"Everybody ready?" Gabriel asked excitedly.

"I guess?" Bobby replied, but it sounded more like a question.

"It'll be fun," Gabriel insisted. He swiped a present from the pile and deposited it in Bobby's lap. "That one's from me. You're Mr. Grumpy Pants, so you get to go first."

"Oh alright," Bobby huffed. He methodically unwrapped the present, which was quite large, and uncovered what looked like some kind of fancy printer and laminating system.

"It's to help make fake IDs," Gabriel explained. "I figured you could use it."

Bobby seemed to be having trouble coming up with something to say, but he finally settled on, "Yeah. Thanks, Gabriel."

"Don't mention it. Do you want the rest of your presents now or should someone else take a turn?" Gabriel looked eager, his eyes darting between the pile of presents and the tired people in the room.

"I really don't care," Bobby admitted.

"Give Dean and Cas the present from us," Sam instructed.

Gabriel latched onto that suggestion with a huge grin, picking the package out of the pile and handing it to the couple. "Enjoy, guys!"

Dean looked wary of the box, but he and Castiel opened it together, both making noises of surprise when it became clear what it was. "A record player?" Castiel inquired, puzzled.

"It's not just the player," Sam explained. "Gabriel put about a hundred brand new records in your house yesterday. He got all of them from the stores the years they were released. There's everything in there from the Beach Boys to AC/DC."

Both Castiel and Dean lit up simultaneously. Castiel had become quite a fan of music, but his tastes tended to differ mildly from his mate's. While Dean preferred loud rock anthems, Castiel enjoyed anything he could sing along to or use to calm himself down. The Beach Boys were one of his favorites, which Dean found highly amusing. Castiel could also appreciate a rock anthem on occasion, to Dean's relief.

"This is awesome, guys, thanks," Dean told them, his tone heartfelt. "Seriously."

"Shall we give them our gift, Dean?" Castiel asked with a smile. When Dean nodded, the angel sat up to pick up the present, then handed it to Gabriel who went to sit beside Sam.

To no one's surprise, Gabriel tore the wrapping off eagerly, while Sam watched with amusement.

"Dean, I take back every mean thing I've ever said about you," Gabriel uttered in a hushed voice. "I freaking love you guys."

Sam had to lean over to see what had generated that response out of his fiance, and he immediately began to laugh out loud. "A deep fryer?"

"There's something else," Dean explained, tossing a package to Sam, who caught it with a grunt. "That part's for you."

The second package turned out to be a fancy slicing and dicing set for making salads, which Sam thanked his brother for wryly. It made sense to get him salad tools and Gabriel the key to an early heart attack, but it just showed how well their family knew them. They had established a long time ago that Gabriel liked to cook, despite his ability to make food appear out of nowhere. He called it a therapeutic hobby. Sam was curious to see exactly what kinds of things were going to be turning up deep fried in the near future.

"Well, while you idjits are exchanging gifts, I guess I might as well give you mine," Bobby muttered, standing up and grabbing four small packages from under the tree. He tossed them out roughly, then returned to his chair.

Sam and Dean unwrapped their gifts first, and were pleased with the engraved knives they found within. The blades were good quality, and the smooth wooden handles had various symbols engraved on them.

"Sweet!" Dean exclaimed, tossing the knife a little to get a feel for it.

"Those blades are silver, and the symbols are enchantments," Bobby explained. "You can stab just about anything with that, and even if it doesn't kill them it'll hurt like a bitch."

"Awesome, Bobby, thanks," Sam said warmly, flipping the knife in the air before catching the handle again.

Castiel and Gabriel opened their gifts next, and found two very different gifts. Castiel found himself holding a recipe book for bugers, which Dean quickly took from him and started flipping through. "Woah, these look awesome! Cas, we're totally having burgers tonight."

Castiel merely smiled at that, and turned to Bobby. "Thank you, Bobby. I do find burgers to be quite palatable."

Bobby shrugged. "All you boys ever do at my house is eat, so I figured." He shrugged, not finishing the sentence.

"Bobby, I love you," Gabriel declared, gazing into the package he'd been given with an overjoyed expression on his face.

Sam looked over into the wrapping paper and groaned. "Thanks, Bobby. He's going to be bouncing off the walls for days."

Gabriel stuck his tongue out and lifted a package of Twizzlers to wave at Sam tauntingly. "You're just jealous cause I got candy and you didn't."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Right." It wasn't just a little bit of candy. Gabriel was holding enough different sweets to feed a small army.

"What else was I supposed to get him?" Bobby asked exasperatedly. "I'm pretty sure the lady at Wal-Mart thinks I'm going to die though. She kind of acted weird when I bought so much sugar."

Dean guffawed at that, having to press a hand to his chest to calm down.

"We have gifts for you now, Bobby," Sam said, decided it was time to move on before Gabriel got into a sugar high.

"Alright, lay it on me," Bobby sighed, resigned.

As it turned out, Bobby was reasonably pleased with his gifts. Sam, with Gabriel's help, had got him several old books of lore that looked relatively new, mostly because they'd been plucked from their respective time period. Dean had got him a box full of car parts for the salvage yard, which Bobby actually seemed pretty pleased with. Castiel, who really didn't know Bobby all that well, had given Bobby what appeared to be a glowing knife.

"It will take on a different appearance depending on the type of creature you're in proximity with," Castiel explained. "If there are more than one, then it will determine which is most threatening. Right now, it appears to be shining yellow because you are around angels. Were demons in our midst, it would shine red."

"It glows blue when orcs are near," Dean added with a serious expression.

Bobby gave him a withering glare and returned his gaze to the knife. "This is something else, Cas. Thanks."

Castiel looked exceptionally pleased by the praise, and smiled warmly at the hunter.

"Can we have Christmas dinner now?" Gabriel asked excitedly.

Wearily, four other people had to remind the archangel that it was only seven in the morning.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:**

**I'm back from my trip! Apologies for the wait, but you guys have been amazingly patient, so fear not, a new chapter is here! For those that are curious, I am planning a new fic for once I finish Brain Bleach, and it will again be a Sabriel and Destiel fic, but the primary emphasis will be on Sabriel. It will be a long fic, with a slow burn on the relationships, and will cover about a season and a half's worth of episodes in the show's timeline. I'll finish Brain Bleach before I start it though, never fear. If in the gaps between new chapters you'd like to send me prompts, you are more than welcome to do that either here on FF or on Tumblr, where I am SupernaturallyImagined. This is a hunting chapter, because I wanted to give more looks into their lives, rather than jumping straight to May for the Sabriel ceremony. Never fear, however, because that should be the next chapter, followed by a Sabriel smut chapter. If there's something else you want me to include (I have at least one chapter planned after those two at the moment) then please let me know!**

**Thank you to anna3311234, ChloeJP, .wonderland23, JessMust7, Riceball-1989, consultingstarkofmischief, XxZessxX, Casbutt-in-Camelot, TheWantonShipper, The Lady Of Misfortune, and one guest for their reviews on chapter 17! Without further ado, here's chapter 18!**

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**Chapter 18 - Hunting To Kill The Time**

The one thing that never really changed about everyone's new living arrangements and romantic situations was the hunting. Dean and Sam still traveled the country together, but now they were usually accompanied by their angels. Dean had considered retiring from hunting now that he was married, thinking about becoming a mechanic or something, but after a long talk with Castiel, he had admitted that his heart was on the road, hunting things that go bump in the night. Sam had always been the one more eager to leave the hunting business, but even he was still content to hunt with his brother. At some point after his ceremony, Sam was considering becoming a little bit more of a Bobby, as in researching for others but not actively hunting every day, and Dean had to admit that it sounded like a good job for Sam. The younger Winchester was quick to point out that he'd still go hunting sometimes though. There was no way he would just abandon his brother to the dark, whether Dean had an angel watching his back or not.

Until then though, Sam and Dean hunted together, with occasional angelic involvement. Sam had almost started to treat hunting like a way to pass the time. Remarkably, it worked. He made it into February before he began to actively count down the days almost as obnoxiously as Gabriel.

"You need a distraction," Dean finally told him, gazing with irritation at Sam, who was absently flicking the pages of a calendar back and forth in Bobby's kitchen.

"Probably," Sam admitted, setting the calendar down. "What'd you have in mind?"

Dean tossed a newspaper at Sam, who caught it on reflex and opened it up. "Check it out, page three."

Sam turned to the right page and scanned it for a moment before glancing up, interest piqued. "Vampires?"

"Sounds like it to me," Dean acknowledged. "It's in Florida though, which is kind of a long drive. I'm thinking we book a flight on Angel Airways for this."

Sam chuckled, picturing perfectly the look of patient consternation Castiel always gave Dean when the older Winchester referred to angelic flight in such a way. "Have you asked them yet?"

"No, I wanted to make sure you were in first," Dean explained.

"Like I'd miss a vampire hunt," Sam said disparagingly.

"Yeah, whatever. I'll call Cas." Dean rolled his eyes but grinned, shifting his gaze skyward briefly, but not speaking out loud.

Sam found it admirable how comfortable Dean was with prayer now. Castiel still carried the cell phone Dean had given him, but Dean was now much more likely to send his angel a quick prayer than he was to text him. Which was good, because Castiel was still of the opinion that there was something unnaturally wrong with cell phones. Sam had found it endlessly amusing to text him while the angel was in the room, because the sensation of the vibrating phone always seemed to startle Castiel. Dean had made him stop eventually, but they both thought it was funny.

Gabriel, on the other hand, had no issues using a cell phone, and would be content to sext Sam all the time if the younger Winchester would let him. As it was, Sam didn't mind praying either, and found it quicker than texting his fiance.

It only took a moment of prayer for both angels to appear in Bobby's kitchen, Castiel directly behind Dean, and Gabriel on Sam's left.

Dean started slightly when he caught sight of Castiel, but recovered quickly. "Hey, Sam and I were wondering if you guys could give us a lift to Florida?"

"For a hunt?" Gabriel asked eagerly.

"Yeah, looks like a vampire nest," Sam informed him, sliding his hand into Gabriel's to intertwine their fingers. It was comforting to feel Gabriel's presence like that, and the archangel thought it was adorable, so holding hands had kind of become their thing.

"That sounds dangerous," Castiel noted disapprovingly.

Dean snorted. "Cas, you remember what I do for a living, right?"

"You don't do it for a living, Dean-o," Gabriel reminded him. "No money made in slaying the undead."

"Thanks for that," Dean sniped irritatedly. "My point was that we've done vampires before. No big deal. It's just all the way in Florida, and you guys taking us will be way faster than driving. You can even stay and help if you want."

Castiel relaxed at the invitation to join the hunt, confident that he and Gabriel would be able to keep the Winchesters safe. "I suppose that's acceptable. Where in Florida?"

Dean read out the address, and almost before he could blink, he was standing on the side of the road outside of Eatonville, Florida. "You could have given us a minute to pack," he commented good-naturedly.

"My apologies," Castiel replied. "Would you like me to retrieve a bag from home?"

Dean couldn't help but smile at the offer. "Nah, it's okay. I think I only need my suit, which-" He cut off as Castiel disappeared, chuckling when the angel reappeared moments later holding his FBI suit on a hanger. "Thanks, Cas."

Gabriel and Sam were behind them, grinning at the exchange. "Do I need to get you an overnight bag too, Sammy?" Gabriel asked with a wink.

"Just my suit, Gabe, but thanks." Sam smirked at him, taking the suit from him when the archangel vanished and reappeared with it in the blink of an eye.

"So, Sam, morgue first, then research?" Dean suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Are you guys coming?" Sam glanced between Castiel and Gabriel, who were watching the brothers converse with interest.

"I'll scout the area and see if I can save you some time on the computer," Gabriel volunteered. "Cas can go with you guys to the morgue."

Castiel nodded his assent and moved forward to join Sam and Dean.

Sam walked back to Gabriel and gave him a quick kiss. "Be careful and don't get into trouble. If you find something, come tell us please."

"I offended that you think I would take such a risk!" Gabriel sniffed with mock offense.

"The Wendigo in Wyoming?" Sam asked dryly.

The archangel blushed slightly and rolled his eyes. "Fine, point Sam. I'll see you guys in an hour or so." Gabriel vanished.

"You realize that the Wendigo was not an actual risk for Gabriel, right, Sam?" Castiel asked him seriously.

Sam huffed at the angel. "Just because it can't actually kill him doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be worried, Cas. C'mon, let's get a move on."

"We need to find somewhere to get changed," Dean pointed out, holding up his FBI suit.

"I could 'zap' you into your suits, if that would be easier," Castiel offered, using air quotes around the word zap, which was Dean's term for his grace.

Dean's lips twitched, but he shook his head. "Thanks, Cas, but I think we'll take care of this one the human way. We just need to find a bathroom or something."

"Very well." Castiel reached forward and touched both of their foreheads, instantly transporting them into a men's restroom.

"Geez, Cas! Warn a guy!" Sam complained, blinking furiously in surprise.

"Relax, Sam," Dean said with amusement. "You should really be used to that by now."

Conceding the point, Sam hefted his suit and disappeared into a stall, muttering under his breath.

"Where are we anyway?" Dean asked.

"The local shopping mall," Castiel informed him. "I believe we are three blocks from the town morgue."

"Sweet, thanks, Cas," Dean grinned and headed into the stall next to Sam to change.

Sam finished first, but only barely, and the two brothers emerged from the bathroom alongside Castiel, looking about as close to FBI agents as there were going to get.

"Sam, is your hair FBI regulation?" Castiel inquired. "If not, it could be a deterrent to the local authorities belief in our ruse."

Dean snorted with laughter, trying not to choke.

Sam flushed slightly and rolled his eyes. "It's never really been an issue."

Dean took a moment to stop laughing, but finally settled down. They had a job to do, after all.

* * *

For all the times he'd seen grotesque and warped things on earth, Castiel still couldn't say that the sight of a body drained of blood did not affect him. The Winchester brothers seemed to bear up pretty well under the circumstances, but he could tell that it bothered them too. After determining that they wouldn't learn anything new or useful from the bodies, Castiel left them to their own devices and went outside for some fresh air.

Dean joined him a minute later, sitting beside him on the grass outside.

"Do you not need to help Sam?" Castiel asked, not turning.

"Nah, he's fine on his own. This is pretty routine, unfortunately. You all right?" Dean's tone held concern in it, which was sort of adorable.

Castiel smiled softly and turned to face his husband. "I'm fine, Dean. I suppose I'm just not as...familiar with the work of vampires. I find it distasteful."

"Yeah, me too," Dean admitted. "Sam and I kind of had to develop a strong stomach as kids, so it's...I dunno, easier I guess, now that we're older. Still stinks though."

"I have seen plenty of decaying and dead human flesh," Castiel said as calmly as if commenting on the weather, "but I do not think I will ever be accepting of the sight."

"That's a good thing, Cas," Dean assured him. "Sam and I may have to suck it up and stomach it to get our work down, but we never accept it. Seeing stuff like this, it's like most of the reason we do this job. People deserve better than that."

Castiel found himself warming to the passion in Dean's voice. He kissed him softly, then retreated slightly and said quietly, "That, Dean Winchester, is why I love you."

Smiling at the change in subject, Dean leaned forward and kissed Castiel again. A second kiss turned into a third, then a fourth, and they were still occupied when Sam emerged half an hour later.

"C'mon, guys, we kind of have a job to do. You can make out later." Sam's tone was exasperated, but amused.

"Don't be a prude, Sam," Dean snarked at him, but he was grinning.

"Oh, Sam's hardly a prude," came Gabriel's input from behind. "I have proof."

"Shut up, Gabe," Sam commented offhand, but he moved to join his fiance. "What'd you find?"

Gabriel wrinkled his nose. "There's six of them in an abandoned house a few miles outside of town. I did not touch the house, and I came straight here. Happy?"

"Reasonably," Sam replied, throwing his arm around Gabriel's shoulders. "Let's get our gear and torch a house."

"Is it necessary to set the structure on fire?" Castiel asked, startled.

"Not really," Dean admitted, "but it makes clean up a hell of a lot easier."

* * *

It was kind of nice having angels at their service when it came to preparing for a hunt. Since Sam and Dean had shown up in Florida without the Impala, they had to go back to Bobby's to get supplies for killing vampires. That being said, the trip to Bobby's and back only took twenty minutes. Angelic travel was a wonderful thing.

Sam had a machete pinned under his arm as he loaded a dart gun with darts laced in dead man's blood. Gabriel was watching him with amusement, not carrying any weapons because he didn't need them.

Dean was a similar sight, except he had the already loaded dart gun pinned underneath his chin so he could use both hands to sharpen his machete. Castiel was watching him intently, seeming to find the scene fascinating.

Finally finished, Sam swung the dart gun up and caught it the right way around in his hand, and shifted the machete into an easier wielding possession. "Alright, guys, ready?"

Dean poked the tip of his machete experimentally and nodded. "Yep, good to go."

"Let's get this show on the road then!" Gabriel declared.

The four of them popped into existence on the ground floor of the house, right into the center of two vampires apparently discussing their next hunting trip. It was hard to decide who was more surprised - the vampires or Sam and Dean, but the Winchesters recovered faster. Both vampires had their heads off before either could voice a protest to the intruders, and Gabriel and Castiel both gawked at the hunters in reaction.

"What?" Dean whispered, feeling self conscious.

"Nice reflexes, guys," Gabriel commented approvingly.

"You are quite skilled," Castiel added, staring primarily at Dean.

Sam smirked at them and followed Gabriel into the living room. "Head upstairs, guys. Two down, four to go."

It turned out that only two had been downstairs, but the other four came hurtling down the stairs, fully prepared to fight.

Dean really did have good reflexes though, and between him and Sam, all of the vampires had a dart of dead man's blood in their system almost immediately, Castiel and Gabriel hanging to the side in case they needed to move in quickly.

The vampires weren't giving up, and consistently made attempts to lunge for the hunters, but years of practice made chopping off a vampire's head a relatively easy thing to do.

All told, the hunt took about twenty-five minutes. Dean was almost disappointed.

"That was fun," Gabriel enthused. "And I didn't even get to do anything!"

"You did the research," Sam reminded him. "That saved me several hours on the computer and interviewing people."

"That was almost too fast," Dean complained.

Castiel chuckled. "Would you have preferred if the vampires actually got the upper hand?"

Dean actually had to think about it for a second. "No, I guess not. It just seemed really easy."

"That's because the last time we took on that many vampires, we didn't have angelic assistance," Sam reminded him.

"That's true," Dean acknowledged. "Getting married has a lot of perks."

Castiel smirked and leaned in to give Dean a kiss.

"Speaking of which..." Gabriel leered slightly, making Sam laugh.

"Three more months, Gabe. Three more months." Sam grinned at the archangel's dramatic sigh, and gave him a kiss. "It'll come sooner than you think, I promise."


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:**

**Right now I think we're looking at about two more chapters after this one, maybe three. If you have anything you especially want to see, let me know!**

**Fair warning, chapter 20 will be Sabriel smut, so be prepared.**

**Thanks to yuffb, .wonderland23, AnimeWolf524, Bobb, and SlasherFiend14 for their reviews on chapter 18!**

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**Chapter 19 - A Day To Remember**

Sam woke up slowly, adjusting his position in bed and yawning, before it occurred to him that the day was May 14th. Nothing could have woken him faster, and he sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide.

"Sam, you up?" Dean's voice hollered from downstairs.

"Yeah, be right down!" Sam called back. He glanced out of habit towards Gabriel's side of the bed, despite the fact that he knew the archangel wasn't there. The couple had let Castiel talk them into a night of celibacy to make them anticipate their wedding night with more zeal. Sam knew that Castiel and Dean had done the same thing, but he was kind of surprised that both Dean and Gabriel had been talked into it. Apparently Castiel was a convincing force.

The tuxedo Gabriel had gotten Sam for their ceremony was one of the nicest outfits Sam had ever seen in his life. He probably couldn't pronounce the designer if he tried, and he'd already gotten distracted a few times by how shiny his black dress shoes were.

"Need help getting ready?" Dean's voice came from the doorway where he was watching Sam look over his tuxedo.

"Nah, I've got it," Sam assured him. He turned to look at his brother and whistled. "Nice suit, dude!"

Dean made a face and adjusted the fabric. Dressing up for his own wedding was one thing, but the suit he was in now was less comfortable and more sharply tailored, and he felt oddly exposed in the outfit. Unfortunately, Gabriel had insisted on black tie for their ceremony, and Sam had washed his hands of planning, since Gabriel wanted it to be a surprise.

"How's Bobby?" Sam asked, smirking lightly at the look on Dean's face.

"Fine, but not a fan of his suit either," Dean explained with a slight grin. Bobby was basically a grouchy teddy bear, and it was kind of funny to note what would set him off.

"He'll get over it," Sam chuckled. "Scram so I can change. I'll be down in a minute and we can finish getting ready or whatever."

"All right, I'll be in the kitchen. You want me to get you a beer?" Dean paused outside the door to wait for an answer.

Sam shot him a disparaging look. "It's like eight in the morning."

"Five o'clock in Russia," Dean suggested with a grin.

Sam laughed out loud. "Alright, fine. Just one though."

Dean made a muttering noise and disappeared down the stairs.

Sam shut his door and set about getting ready. A tuxedo has a lot more bits and pieces than a normal suit, and it took him awhile to get everything in place. His bowtie was a soft teal color that he knew Gabriel liked on him, which made him smile. Satisfied that he looked as good as he was going to get, Sam headed downstairs.

Bobby whistled at him as he entered the kitchen, earning himself a half-hearted glare of consternation from the younger Winchester.

"Nice, Sam, you clean up pretty well." Dean teased, tossing him the beer.

Sam popped the lid and took a swig, relaxing against the wall. "Both of you shut up," he ordered without any real menace. "Where's Cas?"

As if on cue, Dean's angel appeared in a stunning black suit with a blue silk tie. "I am here, Sam. You look good today."

Sam's lips twitched in response to that, but he just nodded and said, "Thanks, Cas, you too. So, what time are we leaving? Gabriel hasn't told me anything."

"It's called a surprise, Samsquatch!" Gabriel replied from behind him, causing Sam to jump.

Thankfully, Sam managed to avoid getting any beer on his tuxedo, and he gave Gabriel a look that was halfway between laughter and irritation. It was an expression Gabriel was very used to seeing on his fiance.

Sam didn't respond, however, because he found himself distracted by the remarkably well tailored tuxedo that Gabriel was wearing. His bowtie was shiny and gold, and when Sam looked down he saw that Gabriel's shoelaces were gold too, which made him grin.

"You look awesome, Gabe," he finally managed to say.

Gabriel smiled broadly, pleased. "As do you, Sammy. Is everyone ready?"

"As we'll ever be," Bobby griped. "Mind telling me where we're going?"

Instead of replying, Gabriel characteristically snapped his fingers, and they all disappeared.

Sam felt like he might actually faint when he figured out where he was. Not that it was more unique or exotic than anywhere else Gabriel had ever flown him, but just by the sheer magnitude of the realization that he was getting married there.

"Holy crap, are we in...?" Dean started to ask, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Huh. I've never been to England," Bobby commented, sounding thoroughly underwhelmed.

Castiel, who presumably had seen England plenty of times, was watching Dean's shock with amusement, completely absorbed in his mate.

Sam was still recovering from the shock. Half of him wondered where everyone was, because the place should have been crawling with tourists, but he decided it didn't matter.

Westminster. Freaking. Abbey.

Sam had watched the Royal Wedding, not that he would ever admit that out loud, and the fact that he was even standing let alone about to be married, in the same building was incredible.

Gabriel came up behind Sam and hugged him around the waist. "Like it?" He asked quietly, tucking his head against Sam's shoulder.

"It's amazing, Gabe," Sam murmured, thoroughly distracted. "I can't even begin to describe how amazing."

"Good," Gabriel replied, pleased. "I'd say I succeeded then."

"Most definitely." Sam turned and planted a kiss on Gabriel's lips, smiling lightly at the sensation.

"Hey, lovebirds, kissing comes after the ceremony," Dean interrupted.

"Which we should really start so that I can get out of this damn suit," Bobby added, his tone disgruntled.

Gabriel grinned and took Sam's hand, leading him over to the middle part of the abbey, where all the large and ornate chairs were. "You guys can take a seat," he called over his shoulder.

Sam followed Gabriel up to the front, unable to stop smiling. It had been a good few days all around, but this was what he was really looking forward to. Yesterday had been the anniversary of the day he jumped into the cage, and Castiel had very seriously given him a large rectangular cake with "Congratulations On Being Out Of Hell" on it. At Sam's amused reaction, Castiel admitted that it had been Dean's idea, and he hadn't realized it was a joke. The cake tasted good, and Sam had to grin at the ridiculousness of such a sentiment on a cake.

Today though, today was about new beginnings and happiness, things that were especially significant on the day he'd been pulled from Hell. Sam took a deep breath and turned to face Gabriel, the two of them standing exactly where Prince William and Kate Middleton had stood for their vows.

Apparently following Sam's train of thought, Gabriel leaned forward slightly and whispered, "I think you're prettier than the Duchess, personally."

Sam blushed immediately, but the embarrassed smile on his face made him look so cute that it was hard for Gabriel to focus.

Clearing his throat, Gabriel turned to see Castiel, Bobby, and Dean lounging in the antique chairs, looking completely out of place. "Ready?"

They nodded, so Gabriel turned to raise an eyebrow at Sam, who nodded eagerly, still smiling.

"Alright, here we go. Just repeat after me." Gabriel took a deep breath, and began. "I, Gabriel, Archangel of Heaven."

"I, Sam Winchester, hunter of Earth." Sam intoned clearly. They were using the same wording Castiel and Dean had used, not necessarily because it was the wording that was important so much as they liked the symmetry of the ceremonies, given that they were two pairs of brothers.

"Do entrust myself to my true mate, under the sight of God and the Host," Gabriel continued, his eyes wide with something that looked suspiciously like joy.

His expression mirroring Gabriel's, Sam repeated, "Do entrust myself to my true mate, under the sight of God and the Host."

"Accepting the love and life of my mate in an eternal bond," Gabriel added, his expression more serious for this statement.

"Accepting the love and life of my mate in an eternal bond," Sam repeated, his voice not wavering in the slightest, his tone strong and sure.

"This I swear by my life and that of the one I hold most dear," Gabriel's voice had never sounded more serious about anything in the entire time Sam had known him, and there was no doubting the sincerity in his voice.

His tone a reflection of Gabriel's, Sam firmly stated, "This I swear by my life and that of the one I hold most dear."

"Forever. In hurt or in healing, in irritation or in peace. As long as we both shall live." This difference in their oath had been Gabriel's idea. To modify the human traditional exchange to encompass something that could be attributed to them. Either of them could be hurt on a hunt, though more likely Sam, and Gabriel was fully aware of how easily he could get on Sam's nerves if he wasn't careful. There was a balance they had found, and this was Gabriel's way of honoring that achievement and instilling it firmly in their new marriage.

"Forever," Sam confirmed, approving this final statement.

With their oath concluded, the hunter and archangel stepped slightly forward and kissed each other, allowing this connection to demonstrate exactly how they were now bonded, even though the bond itself was yet to come.

The three men watching began to clap. It seemed appropriate, given the location, and Dean was smirking at the couple that continued to kiss without really paying attention to their surroundings.

To Sam's intense relief, Gabriel did not unleash a torrent of rice into Westminster Abbey, and when they finally parted their lips, nothing else shocking happened. To Sam, it was the perfect ceremony. Somehow, he knew that Gabriel would know that about him, and would know to keep the pranking to a minimum for this. Sam was very grateful for that, and it made him feel warm to know that Gabriel would intentionally avoid making a joke for his own amusement for Sam's sake.

"So, are you two going to go tour the city?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sam turned to Gabriel quickly and said, "I don't really care if we're not doing that like now, but at some point we really need to."

Gabriel's lips twitched and he pressed a quick kiss to Sam's lips. "Tomorrow," he promised. "We've got other plans today." He winked lasciviously, causing Sam to turn pink, Dean to mime gagging, Castiel to look impassive, and Bobby to roll his eyes.

In spite of himself, Sam didn't mind the comment. He was more than ready for this part of their bond. "When do we leave?" He asked with a grin.

"Cas, can you take the others home?" Gabriel asked quickly. When his brother nodded, he turned back to Sam. "Right now." With a snap of his fingers, they were gone.

Sam was looking around the elaborate hotel room the minute they arrived in it, and was impressed by the luxury. He caught sight of the view from the balcony window and froze. "Woah."

If there was another view in London like this, it was probably from the top of the Eye, and even then, Sam doubted it was this beautiful. He turned to kiss Gabriel, throwing his arms around the smaller man's neck. "You're amazing," he murmured.

"It's nice to know that taking you to historical locations will get me in your pants," Gabriel teased, running his hands along Sam's back suggestively.

Sam chuckled. "You should see how I react when you get me in a library," he replied slyly, chuckling at the flash he received from Gabriel's eyes in reaction.

Gabriel took a deep breath and pulled away slightly. "Before we get too caught up, I have something for you."

Sam's fingers went up to his neck, where the rosary lay under his tuxedo. "What is it?"

"Patience, Samsquatch," Gabriel teased, digging into his pocket for the object. "Now, hold out your hand."

Sam obeyed, and watched as Gabriel slid the most golden object he'd ever seen in his life onto Sam's ring finger. He held it up to the light, twisting his hand back and forth to catch different angles. "It's beautiful," he whispered. "What is it made from?" He'd never seen a comparable gold in his life.

"One of my battle feathers," Gabriel replied softly. He immediately saw the questions springing to Sam's eyes, and he shook his head lightly. "Another time, Sam. We can have an entire day devoted to angel physiology if you want."

Sam's lips twitched and he nodded. "Just as well. I have a present for you too."

"Oh?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow. He knew about the ring, obviously, but not what Sam had chosen to have it made from. Castiel had merely told him that he would likely be impressed with Sam's creativity.

Sam pulled the small object out of his pocket, and gestured to Gabriel. "Now it's time for you to give me your hand."

Gabriel allowed Sam to place the ring in the palm of his hand, looking questioningly at his now husband for not placing it on his finger.

"In a minute," Sam clarified. "Look at it first."

Gabriel examined the ring closely, curious about the lines of silver and white. Inside, he could see what looked like circuitry.

Sam reached for his hand and slipped the ring on, smiling.

"What did you make it from?" Gabriel wondered, insanely curious now.

Sam grinned. "My old laptop. The one you screwed with when you were trying to get Dean and I to fight?"

It took a minute, and then the memories of the first time Gabriel had met the Winchesters came flooding back. "Wow," was all he could say. Creativity was right, that was an impressive connection.

Sam pulled him close and kissed him softly, pulling back slightly to say, "That was the first time you ever screwed with me. Not that I'd exactly condone some of your earlier behavior, but I'm glad you did."

Gabriel had to chuckle at that, and he kissed Sam back, the kiss lasting much longer before another pause, when he said, "I'm very glad you came hunting for a Trickster."

"Me too," Sam replied. After that, there were no more pauses for speaking. The new couple was otherwise occupied.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:**

**Warning: This chapter is rated M for smut.**

**Yes, here it is, finally, the Sabriel smut. Sorry for the wait! You guys are all wonderful. We are drawing to a close with this fic, as I've mentioned, but if there's anything you guys especially want included, please let me know and I'll do my best.**

**Thanks to shadowdancer33996, SlasherFiend14, yuffb, Riceball-1989, XxZessxX, and .wonerland23 for their reviews on chapter 19! Bonus thank you to NaniiLovegood for her review on chapter 5 - I'm glad I could make you laugh, but relieved you didn't choke to death as a result!**

**Without further ado...**

* * *

**Chapter 20 - Let Me Show You What I Can Do**

One really had to commend Gabriel for his choice in room. The view was spectacular, there was a fully stocked mini bar, the room itself was massive, and the bed was so soft that you could easily fall into it and never get back up.

It had only taken a moment of kissing before Sam and Gabriel were backing up towards the bed, the waiting they had been doing propelling them towards further eagerness. It wasn't like they hadn't done anything at all yet - after all, they slept in the same bed, made out like teenagers, and did plenty of fooling around. However, they hadn't done this part yet, and the anticipation had been torture.

It was really impressive that they had been able to remain largely chaste for so long, given Gabriel complete lack of self control and Sam's infatuation with his new husband.

They fell back on the bed without prelude, and Sam gasped in surprise as he fell onto the mattress.

Gabriel pulled away slightly and grinned. "What do you think?"

"I think that somebody stole a mattress from Heaven," Sam huffed, his eyes practically rolling back into his head in ecstasy.

Gabriel looked amused. "Good to know that all it takes is a nice bed to get that look on your face."

Sam managed to pull himself together enough to roll his eyes at Gabriel, then tugged at the archangel's tuxedo jacket. "It would be a shame not to use this perfectly wonderful bed, right?"

Chuckling, Gabriel slid the jacket off and maneuvered Sam so he could start undressing the hunter. "I completely agree. Let's get you out of all this finery so I can bind your ass to mine."

Grinning, Sam assisted Gabriel in ridding him of his clothes, lounging in as casual a position as he could manage and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Your turn."

Gabriel wasted no time in stripping himself of clothing, merely snapping his fingers to accomplish the job.

"That's cheating," Sam teased, sitting up and pulling the archangel closer. "Not that I'm complaining, exactly."

"Hush, Samsquatch," Gabriel told him without any force. "You and your body are going to be too distracting and I won't be able to finish the binding ceremony."

Sam rolled his eyes again. "Then get on with it!" He urged, his expression eager.

Attempting to concentrate, Gabriel closed his eyes and murmured in Enochian, his hands hovering over Sam's skin for a moment in indecision before he shifted Sam onto his stomach and placed his hand on the small of Sam's back, holding it there and repeating his chant more forcefully.

Sam sucked in a sharp breath at the intense burning sensation, but it wasn't burning in the way that one might burn oneself on a stove and feel pain. It was more like something was being etched onto his being, and it burned, but not in a painful way.

Gabriel said something in finality, then shifted away from Sam slightly. "You alright, Sammy?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," Sam replied immediately, sitting up again and moving his hand to run his fingers along the handprint scar he knew would be on his back. Giving Gabriel a look of mild consternation, he asked, "Did it have to be a tramp stamp?"

Gabriel grinned broadly and pulled Sam into his lap, which was oddly not awkward, despite the size difference. "Were you really expecting something different?" He queried, raising an eyebrow.

Sam chuckled. "I guess not. So what does it do, exactly?"

"Want a demonstration?" Gabriel was grinning in that way that usually meant he was planning something devious.

"Sure...?" Sam ventured, not sure what he should be expecting.

With a smirk, Gabriel placed his hand flush with Sam's new scar and threw every single sexual or even remotely sensual thought he'd ever had about Sam at the hunter.

His mouth dropping open, Sam gasped at the onslaught, shocked by how far back some of the memories were, and even mildly scandalized at how detailed some of them were.

Gabriel softly let his hand fall and moved his grip up to Sam's shoulders. "What do you think?"

"Woah," was all Sam could manage.

"Looks like someone enjoyed it," Gabriel said teasingly.

The tone of his voice alerted Sam, and he looked down to notice that he was achingly hard. As soon as he realized that, he became aware that Gabriel was just as hard beneath him. "I think if there's one human wedding tradition we can't miss, it's the activities of the wedding night," Sam managed to say calmly, despite the radical increase in his heartbeat.

Chuckling at Sam's effort, Gabriel moved suddenly and shoved Sam down on the bed, straddling the hunter's hips. "First things first, kiddo. I have a surprise for you."

"Another one?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows and trying not to focus too much on how close his and Gabriel's erections were. It wasn't nearly close enough, but apparently Gabriel had a plan, so Sam would be good and let it happen the way Gabriel wanted. For now.

After Castiel and Dean's wedding night, Gabriel had talked to his younger brother about the safety of showing his wings to Sam. From Castiel's experience, he was able to learn that it would be safe. That was a relief for Gabriel, because the one thing he wanted more than anything was to be able to share this part of his true self with Sam. It wasn't like he was wearing a human vessel, since he had created his own body, but it still wasn't purely him the way his wings were. He wanted to share that with his mate.

"Ready?" Gabriel asked, straightening his back and taking a deep, calming breath.

"I guess?" Sam offered, not sure what he was preparing for.

There was a ripple in the air, as though it was shimmering, and suddenly the massive hotel room was full of gold. One couldn't look anywhere without seeing golden feathers. Gabriel had six wings, and they dominated any space they were in. They were practically liquid in fluidity, and looked softer than velvet.

Sam, understandably, was staring up at Gabriel with his mouth wide open in shock.

"You alright there, Sammy?" Gabriel asked, half amused and half genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, Gabe, I'm...wow. I'm pretty sure I'm the luckiest human in the history of Earth." Sam said all of this with a disconnected look on his face, still enraptured by the wings. "How can I even see them? I thought for sure that that would burn me up or something."

"You're an archangel's mate now, Samsquatch. Comes with a benefits package." Gabriel ruffled his wings slightly for emphasis.

"Can I...?" Sam had come back to himself slightly now, and was sitting up a little so he was more even with Gabriel.

"Of course, Sammy." Gabriel leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around Sam's neck.

Sam wasted no time, stretching his arms out to bury his fingers in the feathers of Gabriel's top wings. There was no way on Earth to describe the sensation, but Sam was immediately distracted by Gabriel's reaction. He had gone slack almost immediately, a loud moan ripped from his lips as he practically melted against Sam.

"Well that's interesting," Sam said with a grin, running his fingers lightly along the bones of Gabriel's wings.

Gabriel shuddered delicately and wrenched himself back slightly to glare half-heartedly at Sam. "You're a wretched tease, Sammy," he accused.

That just made Sam's grin broader, and he ran his fingers through the feathers again, relishing Gabriel's reactions. "Why don't you do something about it then?" He whispered in Gabriel's ear, giving him a soft kiss before redirecting his attention to Gabriel's wings.

There was a sudden growl and Sam found himself pinned down underneath the much shorter archangel, his new mate grinning fiercely at him. "Careful what you wish for, kiddo."

Before Sam had really registered the comment, there was a very eager archangel attacking his mouth, and Sam quickly found himself immersed in the attentions of Gabriel's tongue, which really had no right to be that talented. Sam fought for dominance in the kiss, but it was very clear that Gabriel was taking charge, and Sam decided he liked it.

Satisfied that he had successfully diverted Sam's attentions, Gabriel very careful adjusted his position above Sam and pressed down suddenly, grinding his hips against his mate's.

Sam broke away from Gabriel's lips with a desperate keening cry, thrusting upwards with his hips, despite the fact that they were trapped by Gabriel's pressure on his body.

"God, Gabe, do something!" Sam panted, not really caring that his demand was about as vague as possible.

"What do you want, Sammy?" Gabriel whispered, kissing along Sam's jaw and down, sucking small bruises onto the hunter's collarbone at random intervals.

"You," Sam demanded, still trying to grind back up against Gabriel.

"Where?" Gabriel asked with a grin. This was a fun game. He planned on spending a lot of time in the future like this with Sam.

"God," Sam exclaimed again, struggling to keep his concentration as Gabriel ground against him and sucked at his collarbone simultaneously.

"Where, Sammy?" Gabriel asked again, moving slightly so he wasn't pressed against Sam's erection anymore.

"In me!" Sam blurted, his voice desperate. "Now!"

Deciding that was more than enough invitation, Gabriel moved down Sam's body, stopping a few times to kiss and nip at various planes on his chest before he reached the place Sam so desperately wanted attention. "Spread your legs, kiddo," Gabriel ordered, tapping at Sam's knee in indication.

Sam obeyed immediately, spreading his legs wide to give Gabriel access. He couldn't seem to decide where to look. He was either staring with anticipation at Gabriel or full blown awe at Gabriel's wings.

Ignoring Sam's fascination for the moment, Gabriel snapped a bottle of lube into existence - chocolate flavored, of course - and quickly lubed three fingers. To his relief, Sam was already relatively relaxed, so he was able to slip the first finger in without any trouble.

Sam tensed slightly at the intrusion, but forced himself to relax, focusing on the way Gabriel's feathers moved to keep himself occupied and not focused on the intrusion in his ass. It was a good thing two, because the second finger hurt worse. Thankfully, Gabriel seemed to know what he was doing though, because it only took a moment of stretching before he was crooking his finger to hit Sam's prostate.

Gabriel grinned broadly at the reaction that move got him, relishing the cry Sam made and how his back arched in response. Gabriel continued to stretch him out, slipping in the third finger and sporadically striking Sam's prostate just to make things interesting. When he couldn't stand the teasing any longer, he pulled his fingers free and began to lube his cock, enjoying the whimpering noise Sam made at the loss of sensation.

"Gabe, please," Sam moaned, moving his back in such a way that it looked like he was presenting his ass, begging in a way.

"Don't worry, Samsquatch, I've got you." Gabriel reached up to kiss Sam, trailing his hands down the hunter's sides until he reached his hips, which he gripped firmly as he slid inside his mate.

Sam was the most responsive human being Gabriel had ever heard in his life. Between the moaning and the keening, the archangel figured he would be lucky to last long inside his mate. He paused, allowing Sam to grow used to the sensation as he basked in the tight and warm feeling of Sam's ass.

"Gabe," Sam practically growled, "MOVE!"

Gabriel needed no further encouragement, and began to thrust into Sam with abandon, angling himself just right so that he continued to strike Sam's prostate with nearly every thrust, causing the hunter to devolve into a place where forming real words was just no longer feasible. It was pretty obvious that neither one of them was going to last long, so Gabriel made the most of it, doing everything he could to get Sam to the point of climax, and luxuriating in the clenching sensation around his own cock.

"Can't..." Sam manged to get out, gasping and writhing under Gabriel.

"Now, Sam," Gabriel commanded, his own voice breathless.

Sam didn't need any more detail, and he came with a cry, untouched.

That was what did it for Gabriel, and with very little delay he was cumming inside his mate, crying out Sam's name in what might be described as triumphant joy.

There was a pause, as they came down from their highs, and then Gabriel slowly slid out of Sam and collapsed next to him on the bed. He waved a hand lazily and their release vanished, leaving the insanely comfortable bed clean.

"Mmmph. I'm not sure I can get up," Sam muttered, his words slurred. He shifted until he was curled around Gabriel and sighed contentedly.

"You don't have to, kiddo," Gabriel assured him. "Get some sleep."

"Kay. That sounds good." Sam's words were barely audible, and there wasn't much of a pause before his breathing became even and relaxed.

Gabriel smiled and snuggled back into Sam's arms, lifting the blankets over them and relaxing. He didn't need the sleep, but that didn't mean he couldn't rest with his mate. Gabriel let his eyes drift closed, a smile on his lips.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:**

**This is the last chapter, guys! Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with this story. I'm thrilled that you all liked it so much, and the 200+ followers are very encouraging. **

**I will be starting a new Sabriel story soon, with a hint of Destiel showing up eventually, but it's a slow burn. I'm really excited about it, so keep an eye out for that. **

**Thanks to SlasherFiend14, XxZessxX, starkidindia, yuffb, and .wonderland23 for their reviews on chapter 20!**

* * *

**Chapter 21 - Thank You**

In the future, Gabriel would make sure to take Sam on vacation a lot. It wasn't that Sam necessarily needed the escape, or that he needed an excessive amount of downtime. Rather, Gabriel had just become addicted to look on Sam's face when he saw something really cool. As a result, Gabriel took Sam everywhere he could think of that Sam might like. Sam spent most of one day of their honeymoon in the British Museum. When he realized that Gabriel had plenty of stories to tell from all of the time periods Sam was looking at artifacts from, Sam dragged him to a local cafe and sat him down, insisting he spill every memory he had of anything of historical merit.

Really, spending his honeymoon ferrying Sam from one historically significant thing to the next should have been boring, but Gabriel never got tired of Sam's face. Even Parliament, which really wasn't all that old, got him excited. Arguably the best reaction Gabriel got out of Sam was when he took him to Buckingham Palace. During large parts of the year, that wouldn't be that big of a deal, but when the Queen is in residence, tourists aren't allowed in. Sam really shouldn't have been surprised that Gabriel was able to get them in anyway, but he was. Gabriel had done it for purely selfish reasons. Prince William and Kate Middleton happened to be visiting the Queen that day, and Gabriel was eager to see the look on Sam's face when he was introduced.

Sam really wanted to know how the hell Gabriel knew the royal family, but the archangel wasn't saying. He just grinned broadly at Sam's floundering attempts to make polite conversation with several of the most famous people in the world.

Realistically, Gabriel shouldn't have been able to top introducing Sam to the royal family, but when was Gabriel ever realistic? That was how Sam found himself at Leavesdon Studios, the set of the Harry Potter films. Sam wasn't exactly fanatic for the series, but he definitely enjoyed it, and it had a hell of a lot more appeal to him as an adult when Gabriel snapped functioning wands into existence for them and proceeded to challenge him to a duel on the set of Diagon Alley. The spent an entire day there too, and Sam made Gabriel swear to never tell Dean. Gabriel agreed, providing Sam bought him a chocolate frog and promised to visit Hamley's.

As it happened, Sam enjoyed Hamley's too, if only for the obvious enjoyment Gabriel got out of being in the world's largest toy store. Watching Gabriel play with some kind of bubble gun demo, using his grace to turn the bubbles colors so he could confuse the shop workers, Sam realized that everything was pretty much perfect. Dean had Castiel, and if they weren't the most perfect couple in history, who was? They had a house and a life that they enjoyed. Sam had always wanted to see Dean happy, and he was, blissfully so. It wasn't just Dean though; Sam got his own perfect mate, and nothing had ever made him enjoy anything as much as Gabriel made him enjoy life and love. It was cheesy it was so blissfully perfect. With a start, Sam realized that he'd practically forgotten about the one person who had essentially made all this possible. It would really be impolite to forget to say thank you.

* * *

"No way in hell, Sam," Dean declared firmly, reclining on the sofa in an attempt to convey the fact that he wasn't leaving. He and Castiel had bought a majority of their furniture at IKEA, but it was good stuff, and Dean was a fan of this particular sofa. It was definitely comfortable, and big enough for two, allowing him to have his arm around Castiel's neck like he currently did.

Sam scowled at his older brother petulantly. "We owe her a thank you," he argued pointedly. "Do you really think all of this would have played out the way it did if we didn't get that swift kick in the ass to get us going?" Sam and Gabriel had only been home from London for about a day, and Sam had insisted on visiting Dean and Castiel immediately to run his idea by them.

"Sure we would have!" Dean protested. "Eventually."

"See?" Sam jumped on the last word. "Eventually. As in, it would have taken way longer for us to get to this point. The least we can do is say thank you."

Dean squirmed awkwardly, avoiding looking at Castiel, who he was pretty sure was on Sam's side of this debate. "That's going to be freaking weird though, man!" He offered as a deterrent.

Sam rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask you to pay Becky a visit, Dean."

Dean visibly cringed. That would definitely have been worse.

"Dean," Castiel's low rumble cut through the debate the brothers were having, drawing both of their attentions. "I understand why you find the prospect uncomfortable, but I agree that this girl deserves our gratitude."

Relaxing slightly, Dean nodded slowly. "I guess. I still say I would have done something eventually."

Castiel smiled slightly and patted Dean's arm soothingly. "I'm sure. Regardless, I am grateful I did not have to wait for eventually to come around."

Sam was relieved that that seemed to end the conversation. "Great, so we're going?"

Dean sighed and nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, I guess we are. Where's your better half so we can get this over with?"

Gabriel, who had been in the kitchen, reappeared next to Sam holding a glass full of whipped cream and looking confused. "Since when am I the better half?"

"Since Sam decided to force me to go thank a teenager for writing porn," Dean growled.

"I'm pretty sure she's in her twenties," Sam corrected.

Gabriel's eyes lit up. "We're going to visit the girl who wrote those stories?" He asked excitedly.

Sam nodded, and Dean gave him a withering glare. Turning back to Gabriel, Dean asked, "What are you so damn happy about?"

"Are you kidding? I want to give her a hug!" Gabriel grinned broadly, bouncing on his toes and scooping a mouthful of whipped cream out of his glass with his tongue.

"Let's get this over with then," Dean grouched. "We're all here, so let's go."

"Gabe, you ready?" Sam asked, holding his hand out.

Gabriel took Sam's hand in his own and winked at him. "I'm definitely ready! Come on, I can't wait to meet this chick."

Reluctantly, Dean stood with Castiel and faced his mate, nodding to indicate that it was all right to transport him.

There was a whoosh of wings, and the four men reappeared in an alley outside the video game store. Thankfully, nobody was around to see.

"Do we have to do this?" Dean complained again, but three sets of eyes turned to glare at him, so he shut up.

Sam led the way, opening the door and stepping into the store where he had first learned of Gabriel's resurrection and attachment to him. He almost didn't recognize Kasey Kinder behind the counter. Her hair had been pink and in pigtails when they'd met before, but now it was french braided and bright turquoise.

Kasey looked up when the bell on the door dinged, and her mouth dropped open. "What...I mean, how...I mean...I'm still awake, right? Not dreaming?"

"Hey," Sam greeted her, towing an eager Gabriel along with him to walk closer to the desk. "It's good to see you again."

"Not dreaming?" Kasey asked again, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Sam chuckled. "Not dreaming. I thought we should come say thank you, since you were kind of a big help last time we were here."

Dean made a protesting noise in the back of his throat, but everyone ignored him.

"How did I help?" Kasey asked, her eyes finally sliding over to Gabriel, who was still holding Sam's hand. That was a natural point of contact for them, and both of them enjoyed the sensation. "Oh. My. God."

Gabriel leaned forward and stuck his hand out in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Kasey. I'm Gabriel. I gotta say, I'm a big fan of your work."

For a moment, it looked like Kasey was about to faint. She had frozen, and didn't seem to be showing any signs of coming back to life. Finally, slowly, she reached out and shook Gabriel's hand, almost on autopilot. "Oh. My. God." She repeated, her eyes still wide.

"That's my dad," Gabriel corrected.

That startled a nervous giggle out of Kasey, and she seemed to relax. "So...you guys, you're actually together? Because of me?"

"It's because of you that I found out he was still alive and decided to give him a chance," Sam explained. "It kind of progressed from there." In tandem, he and Gabriel held up their ring hands.

"You're _married_?!" Kasey squeaked. When they nodded, she began to breath quickly, practically shaking as she chanted, "It's canon, it's canon, oh my god it's canon!"

Sam shot a look backwards at Dean, who looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Castiel, who looked concerned that Kasey was losing her mind or something.

Eager to shift the attention, Sam cleared his throat and said, "Not just us."

Kasey froze again, eyes shifting immediately to Dean and Castiel. Her gaze found the rings they wore as well, and she began to grin. "Oh man, I can't wait until this book comes out! The best ships in the entire series are canon now, and it's because of me! This is awesome!"

At the reference to Chuck, Sam and Dean exchanged understanding glances. Chuck would be receiving a visitor soon, and whatever he was planning to write about their love lives would not be seeing the light of day. They didn't need a thousand more people like Kasey running around.

Castiel finally stepped forward, nodding to Kasey. "I wish to express my gratitude to you for your writing. It most certainly jump started our relationship, and for that I am grateful."

Kasey stared at him in shock. "Your voice is so deep," she commented reverently.

"Of for the love of..." Dean strode forward, rubbing his forehead and sighing. "Look, Kasey, let me just get this over with. Thanks for having us read the stories. It was helpful." He took a deep breath and turned, ready to leave. He paused, turned back slightly, and added, "You're a really good writer." Finished speaking, he gripped Castiel's hand and pulled, more than ready to get out of there.

Sam watched them leave, smirking, and turned back to Kasey. "Feel honored," he told her. "It was like pulling teeth to even get him in the store."

Kasey just nodded, still looked awed.

"Well, we need to be going," Sam hedged, moving towards the door.

"Thank you for coming," Kasey told him seriously. "Just...thanks."

"No problem," Sam said with a smile. He was glad they had. It felt right. "Gabe, you coming?"

"Yeah, one sec," Gabriel told him. He leaned in close to Kasey and whispered, "I follow you online." Turning quickly he strode over to Sam, and they walked out together.

Sam glanced back to see a look of shock and mild panic on Kasey's face, and turned to Gabriel, confused. "What'd you say to her?" He asked, his tone amused.

"Nothing important," Gabriel replied easily. "Come on, let's go get food."

"You don't need to eat!" Sam protested, not really hungry for lunch yet.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Doesn't mean I can't have a hankering for cherry pie," he explained as they walked up to where Dean and Castiel were waiting.

"Gabriel, you're a mind reader," Dean enthused. "I need pie, like now."

"There is a bakery two blocks from here," Castiel intoned, as though the fact that he knew that was not out of the ordinary.

Sam just chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, fine, we'll get pie." As Gabriel and Dean lit up and started off down the road, Sam walked beside Castiel and smiled to himself. Everything really was perfect, or at least way closer to perfect than the Winchesters ever thought they'd get. Maybe, somewhere, God really did care.


End file.
